Discoveries
by Filthy Mudblood
Summary: *CH. 31* HG/DM. HG and DM get a head boy/girl assignment for the summer (they aren't head b/g yet) to investigate an old house. But will they discover more than what they went there for? Revenge, Angst, Horror, Humor, and..... ROMANCE!!!
1. The Assignment

(TFG: Hey! I FINALLY thought of another Draco/Hermione idea! I'm still working on Different and putting up the rest of One Decision, but I haven't had an idea for a while. I just got back from a little vacation. It was SO much fun! It was in this old house, built in 1913 (or something like that), but it was so cool! We went horseback riding and golfing (I haven't done either before the trip). Anyways... I own EVERYTHING except the characters, places (except one) and other stuff which belongs to J.K. Rowling. Hehe... To the story!!!)  
  
Discoveries-1-The Assignment  
  
"I have to stay all summer with HIM?"  
  
"What are you talking about? Staying with me isn't as worse as staying with YOU!"  
  
"God, Malfoy you are SO-!"  
  
"Now, now. It won't be that bad. You'll get through it just fine," Professor Dumbledore said.  
  
Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were sitting in Dumbledore's office getting a special head boy/girl assignment. The assignment was to stay the summer at a haunted house and do some research. They were supposed to find out why it became haunted and then fix it. And they were to leave tomorrow, the first day of summer, and stay up until and no later than, September first, when they would return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their seventh year.  
  
"If I have to stay a whole summer with Malfoy-!" Hermione began.  
  
"-You'll get to be head girl next year... otherwise I'm afraid I'll have to find someone else for the job who will do what I ask of them," Dumbledore finished.  
  
Hermione went quiet. "Yes sir. I'll do this for you."  
  
"Good. Because you ARE the best candidate for the job, so you should get to do the job you were meant to do."  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Well, you may leave now. And remember... go there tomorrow as soon as you can." With that, they left.  
  
Hermione went and found her compartment on the train that she shared with Harry and Ron.  
  
"Hey, Hermione! What took you so long?" Ron asked, as she sat down beside them.  
  
"Dumbledore wanted to talk to me about a head girl assignment this summer."  
  
"You're head girl! That's wonderful!" Harry said.  
  
"Yeah, congratulations!" Ron said. "How come you don't seem too happy about it? You should be thrilled."  
  
"I WOULD be thrilled... if I didn't have to do the assignment with next years head boy."  
  
"Why? It shouldn't be that bad. I mean..." Ron chuckled a bit. "... unless it's MALFOY or something. Who is it anyway?"  
  
Hermione gave him a look. He didn't get it. "Malfoy!" she finally said.  
  
Both Ron and Harry stared at her in shock. "W-What? A-A-Are you SERIOUS?!" Harry asked. "It CAN'T be Malfoy! Why that b-!"  
  
"HARRY!" Hermione warned.  
  
"Sorry, Hermione, but he IS! Everyone knows that."  
  
"Yeah, I suppose so. But still... it's rude to say such things," Hermione said. Then the realization hit her. "HOW am I going to last the WHOLE bloody summer with that git?!" She put her head in her hands, and then looked up when she saw Draco Malfoy come in. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Malfoy?!" she demanded.  
  
"Hermione!" Ron said, amazed. "Didn't think you had it in you!"  
  
Hermione smiled a bit. Then went back to glaring at Malfoy.  
  
"I just wanted to bug you. So... has Granger here, told you the good news yet?" he asked, sitting beside Hermione on the seat.  
  
"Head girl?" Harry asked. "Yeah."  
  
"The OTHER news, I mean," Malfoy said. "About our little..."  
  
"Yeah, we KNOW what you mean, Malfoy!" Ron said. "I swear to god if you come near her the whole time, I'll-!" he stopped himself short. "You get the point."  
  
"Is that a threat?"  
  
"You better believe it!"  
  
"Weasley, Weasley, Weasley," Malfoy said.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I'll see you later, babe!" Malfoy said to Hermione, as he walked out, giving her a wink, and laughing when he saw the expression on Harry and Ron's face.  
  
When he left, Harry immediately asked, "What was he TALKING about?"  
  
"Who knows!"  
  
"Promise me, Herms, that you'll have your wand with you at ALL TIMES! I don't want Malfoy doing anything to you. We know you're good enough, so that if he tries you can hex him, or something," Ron said.  
  
"Fine, Ron, I will! I promise I'll have my wand with me!"  
  
~*~*~  
  
The next morning Hermione woke up feeling all relaxed and happy. Until she remembered what she'd be doing in a little while. She groaned. Why did this have to happen to her. And during the SUMMER of all times? That was the time when she was supposed to RELAX and do NOTHING... of course, not until she finished all her homework and went over it at least three times each.  
  
This morning she took her time getting up and ready. She wasn't in any hurry to get there to see Malfoy. When had she ever been happy to see him in the past? Never, that's when!  
  
When she was still lying in bed ten minutes later, she heard a knock on the door, and she murmured, "Come in" from her pillow. As soon as she heard the door creak open, she raised her head and looked to see her mother standing there walking towards her. "You should really get up now and get ready. Don't you have that assignment for school? What time do you have to be there?"  
  
"It doesn't matter. There isn't a certain time. He just said sometime today," Hermione said, putting her head back on her pillow, and saying, "So I'll just go back to sleep now" before pulling the blankets up over her head.  
  
As soon as she did that they were snatched away from her. She shivered. She was wearing nothing but a nightgown that was way too small for her, and outside it was stormy and gray. It wasn't exactly warm inside either.  
  
"What happened to the heater? Isn't it working?" she asked, not opened her eyes, but instead reaching out all around for her blanket, finding it, and starting to pull it over her head once more.  
  
"No, you don't!" her mother said, pulling it away, grabbing her daughter's hand and dragging her out of bed. "And the heater quit working a half hour ago. I called someone but they haven't shown up yet. Do you think you could just..." Her mother made a motion with her hands as if waving something around.  
  
"Sorry mum, no time! Gotta get ready so I can be there on time!" Hermione said, getting away from her mother's grasp and running to the bathroom. Ordinarily she'd be pleased to help someone with her wand, but if it was helping her mother, she'd turn right in the opposite direction and run as fast as she could. What would start out as a little chore, would turn into something big. It should just be a swish of the wand, a flick of the wrist... but once she did one thing, her mother wanted her to do more... dust the shelves... clean the bathroom... So Hermione was great in school.... it didn't mean she loved cleaning, whether it was with or without her wand. It still bored her to death.  
  
Hermione got dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and went down to breakfast, where she saw her mother standing there waiting. So instead of sitting down for a proper meal, she grabbed a bagel, popped it in the toaster, took it out before it was even finished, buttered it, stuffed it in her mouth, and ran upstairs.  
  
" 'Bye mum!" she hollered from her room. "See you next summer!" Even though she wasn't leaving yet. She looked around for it. She finally found it. A small blue rubberband. She heaved her trunk over to where the rubberband was, held the handle with her left hand, and reached out and touched it with her right hand. Instantly she felt as if something was pulling her. It wasn't the best feeling in the world, but it didn't last long. Soon she felt it stop, and she opened her eyes, looking around.  
  
"Sheesh, Granger! What took you so long?" She spun around to find Malfoy marching out of an old white house. The house looked ancient. But it was neat, in a way. Malfoy reached where she stood, and said, "Well aren't you coming in? Or are you going to work from out here? It might be a bit difficult, you know..."  
  
"Oh, shut up!" she said, dragging her trunk behind her and going into the house.  
  
It was beautiful. She'd done a full tour of the house by now. The doorknobs were clear. There were shutters on all the windows. There was still furniture in the house, from the last people who lived here. Whenever that was. An old rocking chair, and such.  
  
"You missed a room," Malfoy said.  
  
"What? Where?" Hermione asked. She was sure she'd checked every single room from top to bottom. It was so incredible, she had to see it all. But she hadn't noticed any other doors. Not even a closet door had been left, unchecked.  
  
Malfoy pointed up. Hermione looked at him suspiciously before looking up. There, in the ceiling, was a small rope hanging down. But she didn't see anything else there. What could it be?  
  
Her question was answered when Malfoy pulled the rope, revealing a secret pull-down staircase. He pulled it all the way down, and went up. Hermione followed. When she reached the top of the stairs, she realized they were in the attic. Dust and boxes everywhere. Only a single, tiny window on the far wall, and a lightbulb screwed into the ceiling in the center of the room.  
  
"This is where we'll be looking for the information," Malfoy said, suddenly, scaring her. She had forgotten he was up there with her.  
  
"Oh. Right," she said, recovering from her shock.  
  
Later, when Hermione was unpacking her clothes, in her room, she realized something. She forgot to pack one little thing...  
  
(TFG: Hey! I didn't know where to leave it at, so I just stopped there. Hope you like this so far. But review anyway and tell me what you think! :) ) 


	2. Locked in an Attic, With Malfoy

(TFG: Hey! J.K. Rowling owns the characters! I own the plot! Everything works out... er... okay. *sniff* But I still don't own the characters!!! *coughdracocough* Oh, well! Oh, and in this story, and the ones I write after, I'm going to personally thank people in the beginning. I haven't done that before, 'cause I'm just to lazy, but I decided I would now. So... (wow! I got lotsa reviews, fast! I never get this many in only a few hours!)  
  
Kat-Thanks! Yeah, I will.  
  
Rebecca-Thanks! I know, I'm evil, aren't I? *grins evilly*  
  
animegirl-mika-lol! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Miranda-Thanks! Maybe...  
  
?-Same as to Miranda... maybe...  
  
CatalinaRose-Thanks! No, they're not grounded, but Hermione doesn't have an owl. Ooh! I just got an idea! Thank you! Muahahaa! Evil Draco on the way (what else is new?) Oh, yeah! I forgot that she couldn't! Well... just pretend she could, or something. Sorry, about that! Yeah, she can use magic for the assignment to... but maybe not without that one thing she forgot *hint hint* I'll email u, as soon as I put this up...  
  
?-Don't worry, I'll keep it going!  
  
Mage-Thanks! I'm gonna finish it... but I can't now... if I tried to, the whole story would really suck, so I'm gonna take my time a little more, and try to write this one better than the other ones I've written. TRY to.... no promises! Hopefully, though.)  
  
  
  
Discoveries-2-Locked in an Attic, With Malfoy  
  
...Her wand. The one thing Ron made her PROMISE to have with her. She was supposed to have it in case Malfoy tried anything on her. Now she was scared. Alone. In a house in the country. With Malfoy. Could things possibly get any worse?  
  
"Damn!" Malfoy shouted from... somewhere.  
  
Hermione opened the door a crack, and looked out. She stepped into the hallway and headed for the attic, where some noise seemed to be coming from. The door was closed, though. 'That's odd,' thought Hermione. But she went forward and opened it, anyway. As soon as she was up, the door closed shut behind her, making her jump. Then she jumped again, hearing "Damn!" again from right behind her. She turned around, and saw Malfoy about a foot away from her ear, looking over her shoulder at the closed door.  
  
"Why did it close by itself?" Hermione asked, curiously.  
  
"I DON'T KNOW!" bellowed Malfoy.  
  
"You don't have to YELL about it!" Hermione said, quietly.  
  
"S-" Malfoy began, then stopped when he thought about what he was about to say. "S-Sorta... Yeah, I DO!" he said, getting louder. "I've been stuck up here for a while now, because I couldn't get that bloody door open!"  
  
"Malfoy, don't say bloody!"  
  
"Well, it IS bloody! See, look!" he pointed to a spot on the door with a few drops of blood on it.  
  
"Oh," Hermione said. Then, "Oh!"  
  
"Is that ALL you ever say?" Malfoy asked, irritated. "It's from me-" he showed her his finger, with a small amount of blood oozing out "-I was trying to get the door open, my finger got stuck in the door, and then he closed again."  
  
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, grabbing his finger and looking at it. Then, remembering it was Malfoy she was talking to, she dropped his finger, and looked away.  
  
"What are you doing up here, anyway?" Hermione asked after a moment.  
  
"Research, what else do you think I'd be doing up here?!"  
  
"SORRY!" Hermione said, sarcastically.  
  
"You'd better be!"  
  
"For what?!"  
  
"For getting to be Head Girl!"  
  
"And how is that MY fault?!"  
  
"Because you WANTED to be head girl, and then you got the position!"  
  
"So?! Maybe YOU shouldn't have gotten to be Head Boy!" Hermione hissed.  
  
"Who said I WANTED to?!"  
  
"Well... how else WOULD you be?!"  
  
"My father!"  
  
"I KNEW IT!" Hermione declared, triumphantly.  
  
"Knew what?! You don't know anything about me!"  
  
"I know you're an arrogant git!" Hermione said. "AND... I know I hate you more than anyone else in the whole WORLD!"  
  
"Even more than Voldemort?" Malfoy asked, quietly.  
  
"At least he doesn't treat me like you do! But then, again... you never know! I've never met him, have I? Harry has, but not me. I'm just the side- kick, along with Ron!" Then Hermione realized what she said, and said to herself, "I just told my worst enemy how I feel! How is this any of your business?!" she had turned to Malfoy by now.  
  
"I don't know! You're the one who said it. I didn't force you to tell me or anything," Malfoy replied, honestly (for once!).  
  
"How do we get OUT of here?!" Hermione asked, pulling hard on her hair.  
  
"Pulling all your hair out won't make us get out," Malfoy said. "But... if you DID pull SOME of it out... then you wouldn't be as ugly. Of course, you STILL wouldn't be pretty or anything! You're just a lowly mudblood!"  
  
"Just a LOWLY MUDBLOOD, huh?!" Hermione asked, getting angrier by the second. "If you call me that one more time, I'll-!" she reached into her pocket for her wand, and couldn't find it. She had forgotten she didn't have it with her.  
  
"You'll what?" Malfoy laughed. "You don't even have your wand WITH you!"  
  
Hermione just glared at him, before marching over to the far side of the room, and sitting by the... WINDOW! She looked over some boxes, to see what Malfoy was doing, before, opening the window, and looking out, down below. It wasn't that far of a jump. She'd still survive it... hopefully! But what other choice did she have. She put her legs out the window, and sat there, feet dangling, for a moment, before jumping.  
  
(TFG: Hey! REVIEW, please! I LOVE reviews!) 


	3. An Agreement

(TFG: J.K. Rowling owns the characters!  
  
Catalina Rose-Sorry about the short chapter! Maybe she jumped out a window... you'll find out what happens in the first paragraph. I can't tell you WHAT the idea is, but I can tell you it has to do with Malfoy and his owl... (actually, doesn't he have a different kind of bird in the books? I can't remember, I thought it was an eagle or something, but I'm just gonna have it be an owl, since I can't remember!)  
  
Rosa-Thanks!  
  
Mione G-Thanks!  
  
anabelle-I'll try to update often. Thanks!  
  
VanillaStar-Thanks!  
  
Angel of Music-Thanks! Hehe.  
  
Edainme-Thanks!)  
  
  
  
Discoveries-3-An Agreement  
  
She barely fell an inch, when she felt someone's arms around her from behind. Then she was pulled back in the window, and set on the ground, hard. "Are you out of your mind?!"  
  
Hermione turned around and faced Malfoy.  
  
"You could've killed yourself!" Malfoy said. "Or worse! You could've got a broken leg or something, and I would've had to take care of you!"  
  
Hermione laughed.  
  
"Don't laugh at me! It isn't funny!" Malfoy said. "And think of what my father would say if I had to take care of a mudblood!"  
  
"You know, Malfoy... that's getting kind of old."  
  
"What's getting old?"  
  
"You calling me a mudblood."  
  
"Well would you rather I called you something else?"  
  
"I really don't care... I'm simply telling you, that it's getting old, and has no effect on me anymore."  
  
"MUDBLOOD!" he teased. Hermione showed no signs of being hurt at all. "Sheesh! You really weren't kidding about that!"  
  
"Did I sound like I was?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
"I'm bored," Hermione said, yawning.  
  
"Well what do you think I am? Happy?" Malfoy asked.  
  
Hermione didn't even answer. She just looked around, and then saw something on the ground that caught her eye. She moved closer to it, and grabbed it. It was a wand. Only it wasn't hers. "Oh, Malfoy," she said, holding the wand between her fingers, and twirling it around. He looked up.  
  
"Where'd you find that?" he demanded.  
  
"On the floor over here. Seems you misplaced it."  
  
Malfoy reached out and snatched it away from her.  
  
"Your welcome," she said.  
  
"I never said thank you."  
  
"But you should have."  
  
Malfoy walked over to the door, pointed his wand at it, and muttered, "Alohomora." It didn't work. "Alohomora!" he said, again, louder this time.  
  
"Here let me try," Hermione said, taking the wand from his hands as he was trying a third time. "Alohomora." Instantly, the door opened. Hermione turned back to Malfoy, a triumphant look upon her face. She smiled, at how bad he was with spells. He just glared at her, as she went down the stairs, and met her at the bottom.  
  
"I think we'll wait for a while before we go up there again. I don't really feel like getting locked in there with YOU again," Malfoy said.  
  
"It's no picnic for me either. Who said I wanted to be there with YOU?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Don't pretend like you don't find me attractive."  
  
Hermione laughed. "What?"  
  
"I know what you think of me. Every girl at school thinks I'm the sexiest male Hogwarts has ever seen."  
  
"Well I'm not every girl," Hermione said, walking away.  
  
Later that night, Hermione decided she'd go make dinner. She didn't know much about cooking, but she had a feeling she knew a lot more than 'pureblood' Malfoy did. She went down to the kitchen, and found that Malfoy was already there, sitting and eating teriyaki chicken. Hermione stared, speechless. "H-How? W-What?" she tried to speak, but couldn't.  
  
"I ordered it."  
  
"Oh," Hermione said, now able to talk. "I was wondering."  
  
"Yeah, I could tell by the way you were going... H-How? W-What?" Malfoy mimicked, in a high pitch voice, that sounded nothing like Hermione's. "Although I don't think the guy who answered was very happy with me. He couldn't hear me, I suppose... maybe he had hearing problems, or something. He kept saying, What? What did you order?" Malfoy shook his head slightly, putting another bite of chicken in his mouth.  
  
Hermione went and sat down to eat next to him, but found no more food. "Malfoy! You didn't order any for me?"  
  
"No. I didn't know you were hungry."  
  
Hermione got up and went over to the phone. She looked in the phone book, and dialed a number for pizza. "Hello? Yes, I'll have a small pepperoni pizza. Yes. Thanks. Bye." Hermione hung up and sat down at the table, waiting.  
  
"So THAT's how you use the phone!" Malfoy said.  
  
"What? Why? How were you using it?"  
  
"I was holding it upside-down."  
  
Hermione laughed, imagining the scenario.  
  
"Would you quit laughing at me?"  
  
"It's just you're so funny!" Hermione said.  
  
"Why, thank you."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You KNOW that's not what I meant."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"That's scary. We're actually agreeing on something," Hermione said, as realization dawned on her.  
  
(TFG: Hey! I'm going to go write the next chapter right now... actually, it'll already be written probably, by the time this chapter is up, but... oh well! REVIEW, please! Thanks!) 


	4. Love Letters

(TFG: Hey! I finally thought of another idea when writing a different chapter (I write some chapters WAY in advance! Hehe...), so I used it in there, and in here, too. Hope you like it! And SO SORRY this chapter came out so late! I didn't mean to do that! It's just I was at my dad's house for a week and the chapter was at my mom's! Sorry! Next time I'll send it in an email to my dad's, so it doesn't take so long!  
  
Carissa-Thanks!  
  
Rebecca-Thanks! Hehe.  
  
Mione G-Yup! And ANOTHER one!  
  
elijahsbaby1981-Don't worry... I will!  
  
Bethany-Thanks!  
  
animegirl-mika- :) )  
  
Discoveries-4-Love Letters  
  
Hermione was just going back to her room (she had been in the bathroom) when she saw Malfoy tiptoeing down the hallway and down the stairs. Instinctively, she decided to follow him. She slowly, and silently, crept down the stairs after him. She saw him sitting in a chair, his quill scratching on some parchment. She snuck up behind him and peeked over his shoulder, to read what he was writing.  
  
'Dearest Pansy,  
  
I'm terribly sorry I have not told you sooner, my love. I should have, and I apologize. This summer I am working on a head boy assignment for next year, and will be working on it all summer long. In case you were wondering who the head girl is, it's Hermione Granger. I hope your summer is going great, and I'll see you again when school starts. I'll write you again, sooner, hopefully.  
  
With Love,  
  
Draco'  
  
He folded up the note and attached it to his owl, who flew off out the open window into the night sky. Hermione just laughed silently to herself, before quickly sneaking away. Luckily he didn't see her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The next morning, she saw an owl come by again, before Malfoy woke up. Curious, she took it, and read it...  
  
'Dear Drakie,  
  
It's alright you didn't tell me sooner. I guess it's okay that you're head boy this year. At least it's not Potter or someone like that. I wish I could see you sooner than school, but since you obviously want to do this, that's alright with me. Poor you... Granger is head girl? I give you my deepest sympathies, Drakie! I'm so terribly sorry! Let me know if that Granger bothers you, and I'll take care of it when I see her next, in September. Please do write me sooner. I'd LOVE to hear from you.  
  
Much love and kisses,  
  
Pansy'  
  
She heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and quickly folded the letter, and threw it down on the table. Then he plopped down in a chair and picked up a book off the table next to it, and pretended she had been reading.  
  
Malfoy came down, and when he saw his note, he immediately strode over to it, picking it up and reading it. He didn't look all that happy about it, but he didn't look angry either. He just stuffed it in his pocket, and went into the kitchen. 


	5. Dreams

(TFG: OOPS! I forgot the author note at the end of the last chapter... AND a better ending! Oh, well! I'll do that this time. J.K. Rowling owns everything!  
  
EvilFireWitch-Thanks!  
  
Me-Thanks! Yeah, I'll email u in a sec.  
  
Akuma Canadian Angel-Thank you! Sure, I will in a sec.  
  
???-Thanks! The next chapter's gonna be up... right... NOW! Hehe.  
  
Couch-Potato-Thank you, thank you very much! lol! I'm not a big Elvis fan, I just felt like sayin' that... my Grandma listens to him tho... he's from her time.)  
  
Discoveries-5-Dreams  
  
Hermione was sitting watching the sunset, when she saw someone from far away. She couldn't tell who it was though. She squinted a bit, then rose, and slowly walked closer to the other person. Pretty soon, it was obvious who it was. There was no mistaking the brilliantly blonde hair, and the way he walked. When he was close enough, she could see his silver-grey eyes, like a stormy day. No matter what his other facial features were doing, his eyes never changed. Never. He came over, and sat down on the rock she had been on moments earlier.  
  
She took her seat by him and asked, "What are you doing here?" She was confused. What was going on? He wasn't being rude. He just sat there, looking at the lake, but never at her. "Draco?" Still no response. Finally, she poked him with her finger, and he actually moved.  
  
"I'm not Draco," he said.  
  
"Well, of course you a-" but she never finished that sentence. Right before her eyes, Draco transformed into another... she would've screamed if she'd've had the chance, but she..........  
  
Woke up. Sweat running down her face, and breathing rapidly. 'What the hell was that?' she asked herself. After her breathing returned to a normal rate, she went over the dream in her mind. The figure. The hair. The Draco. And then... Voldemort. But one thing that stood out even more in her mind, was DRACO. She had called him by his first name in her dream. WHY had she done that?  
  
~*~*~  
  
Malfoy was walking in the dungeons, at Hogwarts, on his way to the Slytherin common room, when he felt someone grab his hand from behind. He stumbled backwards, and landed on the floor in a closet. The door snapped shut, before he could see the other person. He reached for his wand, and muttered, "Lumos!" A small light errupted from the end, and he was able to see that the person standing there was.......  
  
....Hermione! What was she doing? What happened next surprised him even more. She bent down to his level, and pulled him up. Then slammed him against the wall, and started kissing him.  
  
What had gotten into her? She'd never act like this, normally. But then, his question was answered.  
  
"Pansy!" he exclaimed, when she used a spell to change her appearance.  
  
Malfoy sat straight up in bed, awaking from his terrible dream. What did all of it mean, though? He didn't understand.  
  
(TFG: I know that was short, but really, I had NO idea what to put here, but I had to put something! If any of you have any ideas, please let me know! I need ideas if I'm going to make this longer. I HAVE written six chapters ahead, but I want to have some chapters between those, so it's longer. 'Cause the six chapters are sort of close going by time, and there'd be a big empty spot in the summer. Originally I had planned to just do a story for the summer, but I'm going to continue this and go through the school year as best I can, as well. Anyways... Thanks! And REVIEW, please!) 


	6. Going Into Town

(TFG: Hey! I got another idea! Yay! Hehe, okay well J.K.'s characters... my fanfic...  
  
harrypotter-chik-Thanks! I will.  
  
MioneG-Thank you!  
  
GerHPfa-Yeah, I know that was weird. But so am I so... hehe. Yeah, they will. Don't worry it won't be Pansy/Draco. Ugh! That's just... ugh! I don't think they're good together, so it won't be. It'll be something between them soon. I promise! I've already written up to the 14th chapter, or something like that. 'Cause I had a lot of chaps already written, I just needed to fill the blank spot, and I've done that so...)  
  
Discoveries-6-Going Into Town  
  
"Hey, Malfoy, I need to go into town to get a few things, do you want to come with?" Hermione asked, as she finished her breakfast.  
  
Malfoy looked up from his french toast and said, "Alright. I'm almost out of hair gel anyway."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes, stuffed the last piece of bacon in her mouth, and got up. She reached the door and turned, "Aren't you coming?" Malfoy nodded, grabbing a small bag and emptying the small tray of fudge into it.  
  
"You know, those were meant for dinner!" Hermione said, exasperated. "I didn't put them out so you could eat them all NOW!"  
  
"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Malfoy asked, following her out the door, eating the fudge. "It's good fudge, by the way."  
  
"I made it," Hermione said, waiting for his response. She heard a spitting sound and smiled while she kept on walking.  
  
"Er... they're... I SUPPOSE..."  
  
Hermione sighed. She did that more than once, I assure you, as they walked. They reached the town, which was almost deserted, and Hermione's face brightened. "Ooh, I have to go there!" she pointed to a grocery store. "We're almost out of food." Then she eyed Malfoy, who acted innocent.  
  
They both went up to the store, and Hermione's face fell when she saw the 'CLOSED' sign in the window. "I guess we could always go to another place," she said, being optimistic.  
  
The two of them looked around a while longer, and after seeing so many 'CLOSED' signs, that they gave up turned around and went back. "Wait!" Malfoy said. "Over there! It says OPEN!"  
  
Hermione looked the direction he was looking, and saw that it was a small drugstore. "I guess it's better than nothing. We CAN live off of junkfood for the rest of the summer, since there IS nothing better!" she eyed him again. "Come on, let's go."  
  
Once inside, they saw that it was a VERY small drugstore. But it would have to do. Hermione started looking through food aisles while Malfoy made his way to the haircare and beauty products (TFG: I don't mean beauty products like MAKEUP! 'Cause then his face wouldn't be so pale, if he used it. I mean like stuff to remove pimples. Just say that his wand quit working because he used it so much for his looks that it wore out or something! Sorry, but I need a reason here!).  
  
"Hey! All they have here is muggle hair stuff! How am I supposed to look gorgeous when my hair is being all messed up by muggle stuff! I need wi-" Luckily Hermione had managed to get over to the other side of the store before he said 'wizards'. And another good thing, was that the shop owner wasn't paying them much attention. He was just standing at the counter reading the newspaper.  
  
"Do you mind?!" she hissed, holding her hand over Malfoy's mouth. "We're not IN the wizarding world! We're in a muggle place! Someone could hear you!" She let go of him, but still glared at him.  
  
"What? That old goat?! Do you honestly think HE could do anything about it?" Malfoy asked, laughing.  
  
"Shut up!" Hermione said. "Let's just get the stuff we need and get out of here!"  
  
"But I still don't have anything for my hair!" Malfoy said. "I'm practically out of hair gel! There isn't even enough for one more time! And I need to wash it again tonight!"  
  
"How often do you wash your hair anyway?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Oh, about three times a day," Malfoy answered.  
  
Hermione stared at him wide eyed. "Three times a day?! Are you crazy?! That's why you need so much hair products! You shouldn't even wash it everyday unless it actually gets dirty. It's not healthy! I only wash mine every other day."  
  
"Eww! No wonder you always smell so bad!"  
  
Hermione just ignored him and went back to her shopping. "Okay, I think I've gotten everything now," she said, ten minutes later.  
  
"Well whoop-de-doo for you! I can't find any hair coloring products! Yesterday I found a strand of hair that was dirty blonde!"  
  
Hermione laughed, holding onto the shopping cart to keep her from falling over.  
  
"What?! It was a WHOLE STRAND! This is a big deal!" Malfoy said, watching her. "Quit laughing!"  
  
"S-Sorry," she said, her laughter dying down. "It's... just... SO... funny!"  
  
They ended up buying their stuff, (with the exception of Malfoy's hair products, much to his dislike) and going back to the house.  
  
(TFG: I know! I know! Malfoy might've been a little too... feminine! Sorry about that, if you didn't like it! I thought it was funny, but... my mom does that if she finds a gray hair, she'll be sitting there pulling out hairs and saying they're gray when they're not! Anyway, REVIEW, please!) 


	7. A New Malfoy

(TFG: I finally decided that since I have a lot of chapters for the summer already (there's about six more after this that I've written a WHILE ago) that I'd just do the 6th one, this one and then put the other ones right after this. I was going to do more, but I couldn't think of anything, and I still have the school year to write, so I'll still have a long story, hopefully! J.K.'s characters!  
  
JoeBob1379-Thanks! OK, I will.  
  
???-Here it is! The 'MOREMOREMORE' you requested!  
  
SnowCub-K, I'll email you right after I put this up. And thanks for the info about the Eagle Owl!  
  
???-I'm funny? Yay! I made you laugh! Hehe. Thanks!)  
  
Discoveries-7-A New Malfoy  
  
When they eventually got home, though, all the frozen food was melted, and all the hot food was practically on fire. That wasn't probably the best idea. Although if Malfoy had not eaten so much food before, they would've have needed to go there in the first place.  
  
Looking at him you couldn't tell he ate so much. He was pretty slim, with muscles on his arms. Everytime Hermione looked at him she... NO! She didn't think he was hot! Or sexy! No! Not at all!  
  
But he was looking a lot better! He had quit washing his hair so much, and since he was out of hair stuff, it wasn't bleached or full of gel. It fell in his eyes a bit, and was a dirty blonde color (TFG: not brown like some dirty-blondes are, just a little darker than it is... not so... white. More natural blonde, I guess).  
  
Now Hermione wasn't afraid of him. His eyes weren't cold and scary looking. They weren't warm either. There was just something about them.  
  
Just then she heard a knock on her door. 'Why would he knock?' she wondered, getting up and opening the door.  
  
Malfoy was standing there looking better than ever! He wore a shirt with the sleeves torn off, so it showed his muscles even more.  
  
Hermione realized she was standing there staring, and stopped. "Yes?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, I was just wondering if you knew who these belonged to?" Malfoy said, holding out a pair of black panties and a matching bra.  
  
She could only imagine how red her face was. She must've accidentally mixed some of her clothes in with his when she folded the laundry.  
  
Hermione grabbed them, and held them behind her back. Malfoy smirked. "Also, do you happen to know where some green boxers are? I seem to have misplaced a pair." He stepped inside, looking around. Then he went over to her dresser. "Oh, here they are," he said, pulling out something green that had been partway out of a drawer. "Thanks for your time." He smirked again, and left.  
  
She slammed the door behind him, and heard him chuckle walking down the hall.  
  
(TFG: I know that was WAAAAAY too short! But I think I'll put another chapter up at the same time when this goes up. I just needed something else! REVIEW!) 


	8. A Little Too Much To Drink

(TFG: Hey! Another chapter! Hehe. Well... just wanna say J.K. Rowling owns the characters, since I don't think I mentioned it before. Just wanted to let you know, so you wouldn't think I was that brilliant to have created them.)  
  
Discoveries-8-A Little Too Much To Drink  
  
"We've been up here for hours! Can't we take a little break?" Malfoy pleaded.  
  
"You can go whenever you want. I never said you had to stay," Hermione said, looking through a box of old things, as they sat up in the attic.  
  
"Yeah, but come on. You know you're getting tired, like me."  
  
"I'm fine. Besides, I think I'm on to something here. And we really need to solve this mystery before we get back to school. It's important. We ARE Head Boy and Girl, afterall."  
  
"Not until September," Malfoy said.  
  
Hermione looked at him. "I KNOW that!"  
  
"Of course. You're know-it-all Granger. It's basically IN the name."  
  
"Don't call me that!"  
  
"Well you said at the beginning of the summer that me calling you m-" he didn't say it. "That word" he said slowly "was getting old. So why can't I call you a know-it-all? It hasn't gotten old yet."  
  
"Whatever, Malfoy. Just please, let me finish this."  
  
But Malfoy grabbed her hand, and started pulling her towards the stairs. She dropped the papers she was holding and reluctantly followed him. They stopped before her room.  
  
"Go in. Get dressed up. We're going to a nice restaurant. No buts. You need a break, and you need dinner. We've been at this ALL day. Now just get ready," Malfoy ordered.  
  
Hermione was wondering why he'd take her to a fancy restaurant, but decided she'd better get ready. It would take her a while to make herself look nice. But why would she want to look nice for Malfoy? She'd never cared about her appearance that much, and especially not around Malfoy.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Are you ALMOST ready?" Malfoy asked, knocking on her door. "We're gonna be late. I've already made reservations."  
  
Just then, the door opened a crack, and one of Hermione's eyes appeared behind it. "You made reservations?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay, hold on. I'll be out in two minutes!" Hermione said, closing the door.  
  
Ten minutes later...  
  
"Hermione! You said two minutes!"  
  
"Yeah. Just give me two more! I messed up my hair. I need to re-do it."  
  
"You don't need to re-do your-" Malfoy said, opening the door and marching in. He stopped when he saw her. "-Hair." He gulped.  
  
Hermione was wearing a black sleeve-less dress, that went just above her knees. Wrapped around her, was a dark purple shawl. She wore light purple eyeshadow, mascara, and dark red lipstick. Her hair was all in little tiny braids, and piled on top of her head, a few little braids hanging down.  
  
"Will you quit staring?" Hermione asked. "I know I look horrible. My hairs all messed up. My makeup's all messed up-"  
  
"No, it's fine. You look fine," Malfoy interrupted.  
  
"Oh," Hermione blushed a little, at how picky she had been about what she looked like. "Let's go then."  
  
Hermione walked out, Malfoy behind her and they left. Since neither of them had a car or a broomstick, they decided to walk. Afterall... it wasn't THAT far, was it?  
  
Little did they know, it was farther than they thought...  
  
"Malfoy! Why couldn't you have told me it was this far? I could've called a taxi!" Hermione complained, after walking for a long time.  
  
"A taxi?" Malfoy asked. "Oh. Right. Sorry." Malfoy's face got a hint of red to them, which really stood out on his pale skin.  
  
After only twenty more minutes, Malfoy said, "Here we are."  
  
Hermione's face brightened, as she looked up at the restaurant. "Yes!" she said. "We're finally here!"  
  
They went inside, and were seated in no time. About fifteen minutes later, after telling the waiter several times that they needed another minute, Malfoy was STILL looking at his menu.  
  
"Malfoy... will you just DECIDE already? I'm getting hungry, and I haven't even gotten to order yet because you haven't. Will you hurry up and make up your mind?"  
  
"It just doesn't sound good."  
  
"Here. I'll order for you, next time the waiter comes around," Hermione said. "If he ever does." The second part was muttered, so that Malfoy didn't hear it.  
  
"Bonjour Monsieur et Mademoiselle," the waiter said. "What may I get for you?"  
  
"We'll both have le pieds de porc," Hermione said, before Malfoy could say anything.  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
"Oui, monsieur," Hermione said. She had been to France before, and knew some french.  
  
The waiter left, and appeared some while later, with two dishes of...  
  
"Pigs feet?!" Malfoy asked, spitting it out. "You ordered me pigs feet?!"  
  
"What? It's rather good. I thought you'd like it," Hermione said, innocently.  
  
"But you could've told me before you ordered it!"  
  
"Well I didn't want to be here ALL NIGHT LONG!" Hermione said, fuming. "You took long enough to try to decide, and you STILL didn't! I did FOR you!"  
  
"Well, SORRY, if I'm not a fan of slugs and frog legs!"  
  
"Need I remind you that YOU'RE the one who MADE this reservation?!" Hermione snapped.  
  
"No, you don't!" Malfoy said, then, "Waiter! I need my check now!"  
  
After they paid for the food, they left, and this time they caught a taxi back home. First thing they got home, Hermione went through the house to the back porch, and sat there. Just watching the sunset. She was soon joined by Draco, who sat beside her, watching the sunset, with her.  
  
They didn't speak at all for at least a few minutes. Hermione spoke up first, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"  
  
"You're beautiful."  
  
Hermione quickly faced him. What had he said? Did she hear him right? She was sure she did. He'd said she was beautiful. But it still confused her. MALFOY said that. And why would anyone, at that, say that SHE, Hermione Granger, was beautiful... when she wasn't?  
  
Malfoy slowly leaned towards her and their faces were only inches apart. She could smell beer in his breath. "You're drunk," she said.  
  
"Does it matter?" he asked. "If I'm drunk?"  
  
"Yes," she said. "Because you wouldn't call me beautiful if you weren't." Her eyes slowly filled with tears, and she tried not to let them fall as she walked away.  
  
(TFG: Awww! Poor Hermione! But why is she so upset about what HE thinks of her? Hehe... Hmmm, I wonder... anyways, REVIEW, please!) 


	9. Do You Like Me Or Not?

(TFG: J.K. Rowling owns the characters! Pink owns the song "Dear Diary")  
  
Discoveries-9-Do You Like Me Or Not?  
  
The next morning, Hermione woke up early and went to work in the attic. She didn't really feel like talking to him, so she thought she'd work there early, then leave when he got there. She'd still be doing her share of the work, afterall... she could work at night, too. All the times he wasn't there.  
  
After working for a while, she heard the door open, and footsteps. "Hey."  
  
Hermione turned around. She merely nodded.  
  
"Aren't you even going to say hello?" Malfoy asked.  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
She shrugged. Malfoy sighed, and gave up for the time being. He went to work in a box beside her, but she quickly stood up, carried her box over to another corner, and sat down.  
  
The whole day went on like this. She wouldn't even argue with him. Malfoy tried at least a dozen times already to get her to say something. She almost snapped once, when he called her a know-it-all, again. But that was the closet he'd gotten to getting her to say something.  
  
Malfoy got up, and went over to her again. This time, her held her hand, and kept her there. She didn't struggle, but pretended like she always did things with only her right hand, and continued to shuffle through papers. So Malfoy took her other hand, and held them both, together. Hermione, as stubborn as she was, still didn't look at him. Instead she looked out the window. So Malfoy just continued, knowing there was nothing else he could do to get her full attention.  
  
"I meant it."  
  
"Meant what?"  
  
"What I said last night. Watching the sunset with you. It wouldn't have mattered whether I was drunk or not... I still feel the same. Only I probably wouldn't have told you how I truely felt if it wasn't for all that alchohol."  
  
"Why were you drinking?"  
  
"Because we were fighting earlier... and I was upset thinking it would never work, since we fight so much. And since you don't like me." Hermione remained quiet. "Listen, Hermione... Do you like me?" Malfoy asked.  
  
She shook her head, not looking at him. "That's all you needed to say before," Malfoy said, letting go of her hands, and going back to his work space. Hermione looked back over at him, briefly, and returned to work.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Hermione was just looking through the closet in her room, when she found a small radio. It wasn't even that old. 'But people HAVE lived here since the first owners,' she reasoned, with herself. 'Just the attic was never cleaned out.' She dusted it off, and carried it over to her nightstand. She plugged it in an turned it on, playing around with it a little until she found a station she was satisfied with.  
  
"Dear, dear diary  
  
I wanna tell my secrets  
  
'Cause you're the only one  
  
That I know will keep them  
  
Dear, dear diary  
  
I wanna tell my secrets  
  
I know you'll keep them  
  
So this is what I've done  
  
I've been a bad, bad girl  
  
For so long  
  
Don't know how to change  
  
What went wrong  
  
Daddy's little girl  
  
But he went away  
  
What did it teach me?  
  
That love leaves yeah, yeah  
  
Dear, dear diary  
  
I wanna tell my secrets  
  
'Cause you're the only one  
  
That I know will keep them  
  
Dear, dear diary  
  
I wanna tell my secrets  
  
I know you'll keep them  
  
So this is what I've done  
  
I've been down every road  
  
You could go  
  
I've made some bad choices  
  
As you know  
  
Seems like I got this whole world  
  
Cradled in my hand  
  
It's just like me not to understand, yeah  
  
Dear, dear diary  
  
I wanna tell my secrets  
  
'Cause you're the only one  
  
That I know will keep them  
  
Dear, dear diary  
  
I wanna tell my secrets  
  
I've been a bad, bad girl  
  
I learned my lessons young and  
  
I turned myself around  
  
I gotta guardian angel  
  
Tattooed on my shoulder  
  
She's been watchin' over me  
  
Dear, dear diary  
  
I wanna tell my secrets  
  
'Cause you're the only one  
  
That I know will keep them  
  
Dear, dear diary  
  
I wanna tell my secrets  
  
I know you'll keep them  
  
So this is what I've done  
  
Dear, dear diary I wanna tell my secrets 'Cause you're the only one That I know will keep them Dear, dear diary I wanna tell my secrets I know you'll keep them So this is what I've done"  
  
"This should be my song right now," Hermione said, after the song ended. "Almost exactly how I'm feeling. Nothing's going right." (TFG: Hey! REVIEW, please! Thanks!) 


	10. ANOTHER Love Letter!

(TFG: TFG owns the characters!)  
  
(TFG: Hehe! Not! J.K. Rowling does.  
  
Rhia-Thanks!  
  
Janiko-Thanks! Nope... no song this time.  
  
Pris-Thanks!  
  
???-Thanks! Yeah, poor her.  
  
Lil-Miss-Devil- Thanks!  
  
Slytherin Hot Chick- Thanks! Ya know, I thought the title kinda sucked, cuz it was too short, (I'm not very good at titles). Thanks! I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought! :)  
  
AkumaKanada no Tenchi- Sorry! I just felt like adding a song for some reason... it wasn't going to be in there originally, though. Please forgive me? *looks at her smiling big and hoping she still likes the story*  
  
JoeBob1379-I know! She's being so dumb! Why does she have to be that way? *someone comes and whispers something in her ear* Oh... yeah... I wrote it.. hehe. J/k! I dunno... just like to stretch it out and make her be all stubborn and stupid and everything! :D  
  
Cory-I know! I love that song, too! Thanks!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-I know, it is sad isn't it?)  
  
Discoveries-10-ANOTHER Love Letter?!  
  
"So..." Hermione began, as they sat in the attic, trying to get some work done. "Have you found anything yet?"  
  
"Nope," Malfoy said.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Have you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Their conversations now, were pretty dull and lifeless. No emotions behind them. Strictly professional. They only spoke because otherwise they wouldn't be working together on this assignment. It wasn't because they wanted to talk to each other. Although deep down, they knew that's what they really wanted.  
  
"Hey, Malfoy, I think I found something!" Hermione said, excitedly, keeping her eyes on the paper, as he walked over and looked at the paper she held. It was a newspaper clipping... yellow and aged. "'Last night was the death of a very loved member of our town. Miss Wanda Goodrich of 1224 Potluck Drive. It was her best friend, Gloria Thompson that found her, dead in her very own bathtub, which was still full of water. Officials searched the house, and found no clue as to how it happened. It is official, now, that the death of Wanda was an accident. Everyone will miss her very much, but hope she's on to a better place.' How ridiculous!" Hermione said, after reading it aloud. "What on EARTH could've happened, and yet they found NO trace of anything?!"  
  
"I dunno," Malfoy said, staring blankly at the paper.  
  
Hermione looked up at him. He had looked away from the paper now, and his eyes were getting a faraway look on them. Deep in his own thoughts. "Malfoy... what is it?"  
  
He snapped out of it. "Nothing. Nothing at all," he replied, almost too quickly. Then, "Good job!"  
  
"Thanks!" she said, beaming. She had actually found a major clue! Now the part that was left, was finding out exactly HOW it happened. Or... WHO?  
  
~*~*~  
  
Later that evening, while Hermione was sitting in a chair by the fireplace downstairs reading, she heard Malfoy enter the room and turned around. He was carrying a piece of parchment, a quill, and his owl. She watched as he sat and wrote a long letter to someone. She knew who it was of course. It was Pansy Parkinson. Who else had he been writing to? No one. It was only her. The thought made her sick. How could he even WRITE stuff like that to HER? Love notes?! It was disgusting! She was the ugliest girl Hogwarts, and everywhere else I'm sure, has ever seen! A face like a pug, and always clinging to Malfoy as if her life depended on him being there. So she decided to say something.  
  
"Writing another love letter to your 'dearest' Pansy?"  
  
Malfoy jumped about a foot in the air. "I didn't realize you were in here," he said, turning around. "And how did you know about those?"  
  
Hermione grinned, somewhat evilly. "It's a simple thing called... SPYING! It's basically what I was doing this time, except I didn't actually READ the letter this time. The first one was just too... ugh! I don't even want to think about it! But you know what's even worse... PANSY'S letters that SHE writes to YOU!" Hermione pretended to throw up. Malfoy let out a laugh. They looked at each other and smiled, then immediately stopped.  
  
"Well... I better go mail this letter now," he said, attaching the folded up piece of parchment to his owls leg, and going outside with him.  
  
(TFG: Sorry... I've been trying not to write short chapters, so sorry that this one's so short! But REVIEW, please!) 


	11. Revenge

(TFG: Hey! Another chapter! J.K. Rowling's characters (yes *sniff* even Draco))  
  
Discoveries-11-Revenge  
  
It was a dark and stormy night (TFG: LOL! I just HADTA say that! But the real chapter begins now.)  
  
The wind howled, and the shutters on the attic window rattled violently. Not only that, but the power went out, and Hermione was by herself in the attic. She had decided just to do some work, having nothing better to do, and went up there.  
  
It was pitch black, now, and Hermione didn't have a flashlight or anything. She moved around, bumping into things, and stumbling in the darkness. Finally, she found the window, and opened the shutters a bit, letting some moonlight shine through. It was then that she noticed it was also a full moon (TFG: Okay, so maybe I'm making this a little... er... TOO common- everyday-horror-scene -ish... but I just felt like it, okay?) The first thing that came to her mind was Lupin. Memories flooded back... third year and when she discovered that her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher really was a real-life werewolf. Those were the good old days. Now it was almost her seventh and final year. After that there'd be no more professors, no more schoolwork, no more seeing her friends everyday. Some she might not ever see again.  
  
Realizing she was getting too far away, lost in thought, Hermione snapped out of it. She didn't want to think about this right now. Or not even during the year. She wanted to enjoy her time at Hogwarts... and TRY to have a good time at this old house, with her worst enemy. But she remembered that dream she'd had at the beginning of summer, and wondered what it actually meant.  
  
"Oh well," she said outloud, sighing. She turned and found some candles, and matches, and lit them. When the room was well lit, she went back to work. After a while, she got a weird feeling... like someone was watching her.  
  
"Draco," she said, slowly, turning around. "Where are you?" No one was there. She shrugged it off, but the feeling returned minutes later. Suddenly, she saw a candle flicker, out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and watched it. Then she saw more candles flickering all around her, and began to worry.  
  
She breathed a sigh of relief, when she saw the window open. But then she remembered she never opened the window... only the shutters. "Who's there?" she asked, her voice shaking.  
  
Then, as if answering her question, something happened. Water. It poured down on her, and she looked up at the ceiling, where water was leaking through. Her eyes snapped to the window. The only thing was... it wasn't raining outside.  
  
Hermione was scared now. She ran over to the door, and came to a halt in front of a woman. The woman didn't seem to care that it was raining harder than hell. She just stood there, eyes focused on Hermione.  
  
The woman's arm raised, her hand reaching out to Hermione, and started walking forward. Hermione backed up just as slowly as the woman was moving. "W-What do you want?" Hermione stuttered.  
  
"Revenge."  
  
Hermione's eyes widened. "F-For w-what?"  
  
"Revenge on HIM," the woman's eyes darted to the floor.  
  
"Who?" Hermione asked, then spoke again without waiting for an answer. "Listen. Maybe we can work something out? I mean, if I'm not the person who did something to you, then why do you want to hurt me?"  
  
"This is the only way."  
  
"Why? Why is it the only way?"  
  
"Because you are the only one he truely loves."  
  
"Who? Who loves me? I don't know who you're talking about!" Hermione said, all the way against a wall now, trembling in fear.  
  
"He does," the woman pointed down, once more.  
  
Hermione thought about this. Who? There was-  
  
Then a thought struck her. Malfoy's room was right below the attic. Right below where she stood right now...  
  
(TFG: I know... REALLY dramatic! I didn't plan on this being so dramatic, it just turned out that way! REVIEW, please!) 


	12. Saved

(TFG: J.K. Rowling's.)  
  
Discoveries-12-Saved  
  
... No! It was obsurd! Malfoy didn't love her! Why would he? It didn't make any sense! But then she reasoned, that nothing that happened this summer had made any sense. So it was perfectly normal... in a way.  
  
The woman looked vicious right now. It scared the living daylights out of Hermione. If Malfoy was below her... maybe she could...  
  
She had to at least try! She stomped her feet on the hardwood floor, hoping he'd hear and wake up. Then she ran straight at the woman, still making all the noise she could, screaming included. Suddenly she felt very cold. And she no longer saw the woman standing in front of her. She stopped. Maybe it was all just her imagination. Maybe it-  
  
WASN'T! She felt someone grab her from behind, and turned her neck as far as she could to see who it was. It was the woman!  
  
But she heard another sound. Footsteps. And something opening. Something near. Her eyes darted from the woman to the door, and watched as the figure of Malfoy approached. He stood, frozen to the stop when he saw her, then rushed over and freed Hermione of the woman's grasp.  
  
"Run!" he shouted. She didn't need telling twice. She ran as fast as she could, out of the house, and down the dirt road.  
  
A while later, dirty and out of breath, Hermione retired to an old roadside cafe, where she received strange looks from all the other customers. It was true... she looked like hell. Her hair a mess, her nightgown soaking wet, and her feet were caked it dirt. She even cut her left foot on a piece of broken glass while running, and now had dried up blood along with the dirt. It wasn't a pretty sight, let me tell you.  
  
She threw herself into an empty booth, and began looking at a menu, before the manager came over and threw her out.  
  
'Boy, this night sure is turning out great,' Hermione thought, as she continued walking, stomach growling insanely. She didn't know how much more she could take. It was cold out, and it didn't help that she was in the condition she was.  
  
But she definitely couldn't go back there. Not now. Not ever. It wasn't even the end of summer, and they hadn't finished solving the case yet. Now she'd never get to be Head Girl. They'd find someone else.  
  
"Hermione, wait up!" a voice called, startling her. She spun around and saw Malfoy jogging towards her.  
  
"What are we going to do?" she asked. "We can't go back there."  
  
"No, we can't," Malfoy agreed, thinking. "We could find someplace to stay. A hotel or something."  
  
"Yeah, I suppose that'll have to do."  
  
They ended up finding a room to stay in at a motel. There was only one vacant room, so they had to share one. And there was only one bed. Hermione refused, until Malfoy said he'd sleep on the sofa.  
  
After they both got cleaned up, they watched some television. During a commercial, Hermione turned to Malfoy and asked, "What was she talking about?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"That woman," Hermione said. "Who was she, and what was she talking about when she said she wanted revenge on you?!"  
  
Malfoy looked surprised that she'd ask this, yet also like his secret had just been revealed.  
  
"Well?!" she demanded.  
  
"Wanda Goodrich."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"She's Wanda Goodrich. Or the ghost of her anyway," Malfoy repeated.  
  
"Oh. Now tell me why she was going to kill me to get revenge on you."  
  
"I really love you. So it would've been really painful for me if you'd died."  
  
"That only partially answers my question," Hermione said, ignoring the fact that he'd just admitting to loving her. "What did you do to her?!"  
  
Malfoy didn't answer. Then it hit her. "No..." she said, slowly. "NO! You didn't!"  
  
He looked up and nodded.  
  
"NO! NO, you DIDN'T!" she screamed, eyes beginning to water.  
  
"Yes, Hermione, I did."  
  
"So... No! I'm not in love with a murderer!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, before running out, back into the cold night.  
  
(TFG: More drama... REVIEW, please!) 


	13. I Care About You

(TFG: Hey! Nothing to say, really, so I'll just get on with the story! After my thank you's of course!  
  
Bethany-HE KILLED HER?!... that's what. Don't worry, I'll explain it in the story. In this chapter, as a matter of fact. He had a reason (even though I'm still mad at him in this chapter... oh well.  
  
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ShojoAngel-Yep! Here it is!  
  
Elfin Warrior Maiden-I know! It's so sad!  
  
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Jessica-Thanks!  
  
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Discoveries-13-I Care About You!  
  
The next day, Hermione had reached a small village, and was just walking down the road, when she saw a blonde head come out of a barbershop. She held her breath, waiting for him to turn around and see whether or not it really was him or not-  
  
It wasn't. It was a female with hair almost exactly like his. For a moment there, she had been worried. She didn't need a murderer after her. She certainly didn't want to share a common room with him this year, being head girl and all. She'd have to talk to Professor Dumbledore about that. That is... if she ever got back.  
  
She was lost, dirty, and without a wand. Would she ever get back home? Her only chance was Malfoy, since he had his wand. But she couldn't trust him, so it didn't matter.  
  
"Hermione."  
  
"No! Stay away from me!" she screamed, turning around to face Malfoy, and backing up quickly.  
  
"Listen. You have to listen to me! It's not what you think."  
  
"Oh, really? What is it then? How can it not be what I think, when you KILLED someone?!"  
  
"It wasn't my fault, I-"  
  
"Of course it was your fault! Nobody could've made you do it!" Hermione said. (TFG: Kinda like when they needed a fire, but she said "But there's no wood!")  
  
"Haven't you ever heard of magic?" he asked.  
  
Then she blushed, realizing how obvious it was. "Then explain it to me," she whispered.  
  
"Can we go somewhere private?" Malfoy requested.  
  
"No, we cannot! We're staying right here!"  
  
"Okay, well, it all started when my dad brought me to You-Know-Who. I wasn't a deatheater yet, but I had to do a task before becoming one. I had to kill someone. So, naturally, I went along with it. My father wanted me to be just like him, and I thought I did, too. Until it was too late. Until I had already killed her. And, as you know, nobody ever found any clues to how it happened, so it was said to be an accident."  
  
Hermione believed him, until she found one little problem. "Then how come the newspaper was yellowed? And how old were you when you did this?"  
  
"Fifteen," he answered. "The reason the paper was yellowed and old was because it didn't happen two years ago. It happened eighty years ago. The reason I had to go back in time, was because there were no such thing as deatheaters then, and there are now. So then even wizards wouldn't be able to find out anything about it, and wouldn't have any way of tracking me down. Hermione, please believe me. I'm really sorry I did that, but I've changed. I hated to do that, and I realized it only too late. I'd do anything to take it back, but I can't. (TFG: Remember, you can't be seen when using a time-turner, so he couldn't have stopped himself... it would've been a mess). I really care about you, Hermione!"  
  
Hermione was crying by now. Now she truely believed him. She could tell he was telling her the truth.  
  
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, to tell him how she felt, because there were no words to describe her feelings. When they broke apart, she whispered, "I do, too!"  
  
(TFG: Mushy ending to a chapter, I know! Sorry to those of you who don't like really mushy stuff! 'Cause I know sometimes I like romance, but not THAT mushy... just depends. REVIEW, please!) 


	14. Back To School

(TFG: J.K. Rowling owns the characters! Oh, and could somebody please tell me how to make words bold and italicized, etc.? Please? *gets down on hands and knees and begs* PLEASE?! *gets up* It's okay if you don't *glares* but I'd really like you to *smiles*. I've been trying to find out forever, and I was planning on re-doing all my stories so they're a little more neater, but I don't know how... anyways...)  
  
Discoveries-14-Back To School  
  
Hermione and Draco walked through the crowded Kings Cross Station, til they reached the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. Then they casually slipped through the brick and onto Platform 9 3/4 which was not visible to muggles. It had been a horrible summer... up until the last day, and now they were back to school and friends and teachers. Just like normal...  
  
Others saw them together, and even worse, was that people noticed them holding hands while strolling through the groups of people. Some got jealous. Some just got plain upset. Either way, nobody was happy about this at all. And it needed to end.  
  
When they got on the train, they separated and went to sit with their friends, like usual. Hermione soon found hers, and knocked on the open door, "Hey, guys!"  
  
Ron and Harry, who had been looked out the window, now faced her and smiled. Well, Harry did at least. Hermione didn't pay much attention, though, and didn't notice Ron's sad expression.  
  
"Hey, Herm!" Harry said.  
  
Ron still said nothing. Hermione sat beside Harry and he got even angrier, you could tell by his face, but they seemed to not pay any attention. Until Hermione asked, "What about you, Ron?" He didn't know what she said before that. Uh-oh!  
  
"S-Sorry, what did you say?" Ron asked.  
  
"Why are you stuttering?" Hermione asked, curiously. "I was just telling Harry-" Ron's eyes went dark "-about my summer with Draco-" Ron's eyes went even darker at that "and how things went. Then I asked how your summer was."  
  
"Just fine," he said, forcing the words out, not sounding at all natural.  
  
"What about your summer, Harry?" Hermione asked, politely.  
  
"It was okay, I guess. Nothing's ever too great with the Dursley's though, so it's no big deal," Harry responded.  
  
"Yeah, sorry about that." Nobody noticed the sarcasm in Ron's voice.  
  
Later on, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came in, like they did every year on the train, just to annoy them.  
  
"Hey, Potty! Hey, Weasel! How's it going?" Draco asked. Then he noticed Ron's red face, and decided to bug him some more. "Oh. Did your girlfriend dump you? Poor little Ronnie, can't find anyone who'll love him."  
  
"Oh, and you can?" Harry asked. "I see you've made a little impression on our friend Herm here, though. What's that about? Never returned that book to the restricted section, eh?"  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I can. I'm surprised how little you know about your... er... BEST friend. Don't you know she hates the name Herm? Or do you even listen? And it's none of your business what that's about. It's mine and 'Mione's business."  
  
"Oh, Mione now, is it?" Ron asked, turned to Hermione. "You'll let HIM call you a stupid nickname, but we can't even call you the name you want to be called?"  
  
"Actually, he's right," Hermione said, getting a bit angry now. "I DO hate the name Herm. I absolutely despise it. Furthermore, I don't think it IS any of your business, like he said. And it's NOT a stupid nickname!"  
  
"Herm," Harry said. "I-I mean... Mione."  
  
"Don't call me that. You can call me Hermione just like all my other friends."  
  
"Er, okay then... Hermione... you could've just told us before. We would've listened."  
  
"Well, sorry! But I HAVE told you that before, and you never remembered. Finally, I just gave up. I got sick of reminding you!"  
  
Ron was standing up now. "Did you ever care how we felt about you?"  
  
"Of course I did!"  
  
"Well then why would you go around with THAT?!"  
  
"I've had enough of this!" Hermione got up and stormed out, Draco following closely behind.  
  
(TFG: Didn't know what to write. I KNOW! I KNOW! No excuses! Sorry! But REVIEW anyway!) 


	15. The Talk With Dumbledore

(TFG: J.K.'s characters!  
  
Akuma Kanada no Tenchi-Thanks!  
  
Princess... cutiepie?-Here's more! :D  
  
Draco'sAmericanGirl-:D Thanks!)  
  
Discoveries-15-The Talk With Dumbledore  
  
Hermione and Draco went and found their own compartment, and sat down. After a moment of silence, there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Anything off the trolley?"  
  
Hermione wasn't hungry, so she shook her head.  
  
"Come on, Mione. You need to eat something. It'll take your mind off-"  
  
"-Harry and Ron," Hermione interrupted. "No, I don't think it will."  
  
"Well at least eat something. You haven't eaten anything all day."  
  
"And eating chocolate will be any better?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Better than nothing," Draco said.  
  
"Oh, alright!" she sighed.  
  
Draco paid the woman, and brought the food back inside. A little bit of everything. Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and more. Draco started eating right away, then noticed Hermione still wasn't eating.  
  
"Close your eyes," he said.  
  
"What?" Hermione asked, looking up.  
  
"Close your eyes," Draco repeated, standing up. She closed them and waited. She felt something in her mouth and suddenly tasted...  
  
"Brussel Sprouts!" Hermione exclaimed, opening her eyes and spitting it out. "I HATE brussel sprouts! My mum used to always make me eat all my vegetables, and it was usually sprouts!" Hermione looked around for something to drink, to rinse the flavor out. Then she dug around her pocket for her wand and conjured up a glass of water. She drank it all. Leaving not a single drop of it. "Couldn't you have given me something different?!" she asked him.  
  
"What? Like... this?" he asked, shoving another bean in her mouth.  
  
He did this a few more times and she spat it out each time. It went from brussel sprouts, to earwax, to dirt and more. She even got a vomit flavored one and threw up. Luckily Draco had gotten a new wand and was able to clean it up and rid it of the smell.  
  
They got to Hogsmeade station, soon enough, got in the carriages and went up to the castle. Inside the great hall, they parted, once again, to find their house tables and waited for the sorting ceremony to begin.  
  
Eventually a nervous bunch of first years came through the doors and gathered in front of a stool, with the sorting hat on top. The hat sang it's song, and Professor McGonagall began calling students forward.  
  
When she got to "Yokiva, Craig" many students began laughing as they watched the very wide, yet very short, boy come forward to sit on the stool... which immediately collapsed under all the weight. This made people laugh even harder. Especially the Slytherins.  
  
Hermione felt sorry for the boy. It must be terribly embarrassing. Not only to be the last one called up, but to have everyone laughing at you.  
  
Professor McGonagall went forward, and helped him up. He ended up standing while he was sorted into... "GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindors applauded, while still laughing. Hermione clapped louder than anyone there. She wanted him to feel welcomed.  
  
After the feast, Professor Dumbledore called Hermione and Draco forward, while the others left.  
  
"Yes, Professor?" Hermione asked.  
  
"I've gotten word that your assignment didn't go very well," he paused.  
  
"No, you see, Professor... it wasn't our fault! See the-" Hermione began.  
  
"That's enough, Hermione. I know what happened, and I'm still very proud of you for going there and accomplishing as much as you did. You got a lot done. Most of all you've shown me that you and Draco here, can agree and get along. That was the whole purpose of this assignment. And you did very well indeed. Although we will not be selling it now... we can't sell a house to muggles when there are particularly violent spirits living there as well. They won't know how to handle them. So the house will be destroyed. We'll come up with a solution... some way to explain to the people near there what happened, don't worry," Professor Dumbledore said. "Now... I'll need Professor McGonagall to show you to your new headquarters, and you'll need to get your rest. It's getting late. Good night!" He nodded, and left.  
  
"Okay, now if you'll follow me," Professor McGonagall said. They followed her a ways, until they were at a portrait of two people, a man and a woman, dancing. They were doing a mix between ballet and the tango. The man wore a white shirt that wasn't buttoned up all the way, and black pants. The woman wore a red silk dress, that was fairly tight down to her waist, and loose from there til where it stopped just below her knees. There was even a man in the corner, though hard to tell he was there, playing the accordian.  
  
The two went on dancing, until the song ended, and the girl noticed the three of them standing there. "Terribly sorry about that! Have you decided on a password?" she asked, coming closer to the frame.  
  
Professor McGonagall turned to them. "What shall it be?"  
  
"Er..." Draco said, thinking.  
  
"Complicated Love," Hermione said, without thinking.  
  
"Complicated Love it is," Professor McGonagall said, as the portrait swung open, and Hermione and Draco stepped inside. The portrait snapped shut behind them, and now they were left to look around their new home.  
  
It wasn't very different than Gryffindor Tower, Hermione decided. The only thing different about it was that she shared it with only one person.  
  
(TFG: REVIEW,please!) 


	16. Stares And Whispers

(TFG: Hey, what's up? Hehe... J.K. Rowling owns the characters... *sniff* I'm *sniff* fine... really *sniff*  
  
Kara Malfoy-Here's the UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE you requested! Hehe! Thanks!  
  
Gliniel of Terrigan-Thank you SO much! :D  
  
Maxoid-:D Thanks for the review!  
  
Dragon Girl-Thanks a lot! And I LOVE that cute pic of the bunny! That is SOOOOO cute!  
  
Draco'sAmericanGirl-Thank you SO much! And I'm glad you and ur BF are going back out. That's good.  
  
Miranda-Nope! It's not over! Hehe!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-Yeah, I know... I pity him. I'm going to try to put him in this story a lot, and not just be a side character that's only mentioned once or twice... just cause I feel so bad for him. :D Actually, I had that planned before I added his character. Thanks for reviewing!)  
  
Discoveries-16-Stares and Whispers  
  
Hermione heard people talking. How could she not? It's not like they bothered to keep their voices down. They just talked as if she wasn't there, and she couldn't hear them. But she knew. She knew what they were talking about, and it made her uncomfortable. Gryffindors... her friends... thought she'd betrayed them, and the Slytherins thought the same of Draco. It was a terrible mess, and she wondered if things would ever be the same again.  
  
Of course, sometimes people did whisper. Students passed her on the way to classes, and would whisper or just talk normal, to a friend and be watching Hermione the whole time. Did they think she was blind? That she couldn't see them looking right at her? It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Even so, she was very intelligent... that was what she was most known for at school.  
  
No matter, she kept her face a smile. Never a frown. She wanted to pretend like she didn't know what they were talking about. She could only imagine how false she looked grinning stupidly at the passing crowds. She wasn't even alright in the library, the place she felt the best... other than Draco.  
  
Draco. That's it. She'd go see him and he'd make things all better.  
  
She quickly gathered her things, stuffed them in her bag, and left the library, ignoring the people talking.  
  
Hermione still had no idea why the head boy and girl's room had to be in the dungeons. It was dreadfully cold, and damp. How could the Slytherins stand it down there? She supposed it was just because of who they were... slimy little gits.  
  
One step inside the common room, and she felt tingly from head to toe. It was nice and warm in there. Then she spotted the reason why. There was a fire in the fireplace. And in front of it, sat Draco, on the couch.  
  
She quietly put her things down, and tiptoed over to him. "Whatcha doing?" she asked, as soon as she was standing right behind him.  
  
He jumped, and turned his neck. "Didn't hear you come in. Just doing homework. Say, can you help me with this part? I thought I understood it, but it turns out I don't."  
  
"Sure," Hermione said, walking around the couch and sitting beside him. She leaned over and looked down at the piece of parchment. "Oh, that's easy. You just take that number and times it by the number of objects in the bunch, then take away three add a two, and you're done."  
  
It took Draco a moment to think it over before saying, "Oh, yeah. Thanks, Hermione!" He kissed her on the cheek, and scribbled down the answer.  
  
"No problem."  
  
He must've sensed that something was wrong because he said, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing," she denied.  
  
"Something's up. I know it. Just tell me, and maybe I can help."  
  
She sighed. "Alright, if you must know, it's just... everyone's talking about us. Even though all they've seen is us holding hands, they know we're involved, and... I don't know. All my friends think I've betrayed them."  
  
"Betrayed them? What? Because you followed your heart?"  
  
"I know. I feel the same way, but I just don't know how to explain it to them. They won't even listen to me."  
  
"Well you'll have to make them listen, then. Make them see reason. You can't help your feelings. We care about each other... that should be a good enough reason."  
  
"Yeah, you're right. I'll try talking to them again tomorrow."  
  
"Try?"  
  
"I WILL talk to them tomorrow."  
  
"That's right."  
  
(TFG: REVIEW!) 


	17. It's Your Fault

(TFG: J.K. Rowling owns the characters! Oh, and just a little note... this story is going to be sad/angst/horror-ish later on... not the whole thing, just a few chapters. I'll warn you in the author's note about it so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Anyways, that's not for a while... thanks to:  
  
Lynnie-Thanks!  
  
Draco'sGal13-Thanks! Yep! Draco/Hermione forever!!!!  
  
Fiona-Thanks!  
  
Mara-Potter-hehe! Thanks!)  
  
Discoveries-17-The Fight  
  
"Hermione."  
  
Hermione stirred a bit. He gently nudged her. She moaned. "It's time to get up, Hermione," Draco whispered.  
  
"Whatimesit?"  
  
"Time to get up."  
  
She opened her eyes and looked at him, sitting there smiling. "We have class in an hour, and you still haven't eaten breakfast."  
  
"Have you?" she asked, climbing out of her bed and going to her closet.  
  
"No, I was waiting for you," he said, still sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her.  
  
She smiled at him. "Thanks," and continued getting ready. "Draco?"  
  
"Mmm?" he said looking up at her face, from a lower part on her body where his eyes previously were.  
  
"Could you... er... go? While I get ready?" she requested.  
  
"Oh, sure."  
  
~*~*~  
  
In the great hall, people had already eaten, except for Harry and Ron who came in after they got there, saw her, and sat at the opposite end of the table. All through the meal, they kept looking over at her, disgusted. Finally, after not being able to handle it anymore, she stood up and went to class early, Draco following behind.  
  
"How come you left?" he asked.  
  
"Didn't you see Harry and Ron staring at me?"  
  
"Not really... I was busy eating, so I could come over to your table sooner," he replied.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Why hello, Hermione! Good ter see yeh again!" Hagrid said as they approached the paddock. "How come yer so early, eh?"  
  
"Oh... I just finished breakfast early and didn't want to sit in there any longer so I just came here instead."  
  
"Say, where're Harry and Ron at? Haven' seen them yet."  
  
"Still eating."  
  
"No, we're right here, Hagrid," Harry said, walking from behind her and over to Hagrid, with Ron.  
  
"Oh, there you are," she said.  
  
They didn't say anything, but merely looked at her. This hurt her. She didn't show it, but it truely did. Her best friends were against her just because of Draco!  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Draco, we need to talk," Hermione said that night, as they sat in their common room doing homework. She got up from the table she had been sitting at, and moved over to the fireplace where Draco sat.  
  
"What's up?" he asked, putting his books and quills aside.  
  
"I don't think this is a good idea."  
  
"What's not?"  
  
"Us."  
  
"W-We're not?" he stuttered.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"How come?" he asked.  
  
"Because."  
  
"Because why?"  
  
"Because we just aren't okay?!"  
  
"Mione, you're going to have to give me a better answer than that. I don't understand what you mean."  
  
"And don't call me Mione!"  
  
"Why not? What would you rather I called you? Granger? Mudblood?" he asked, annoyed.  
  
"No, I would not rather you called me mudblood, Malfoy!" she hissed.  
  
"Oh, so we're back to last names then... I get it... Granger."  
  
"Yes, we are."  
  
"Do you mind elaborating? On that whole thing earlier? I'm still not sure I understand... Should I understand when you come over and say we're through, and we're back to last names now? Am I stupid or something?"  
  
"No, you shouldn't, but I shouldn't need to explain myself to you."  
  
"What can I do to get you to tell me?"  
  
"Absolutely nothing."  
  
"So, you'll just tell me then?"  
  
"No! I never said that!"  
  
"But you just said-"  
  
"Listen, Malfoy, are you going to bug me about this all night until I tell you?"  
  
"Maybe... maybe not. But I do believe I deserve a reason!"  
  
"Fine, then! I'll tell you! It's YOUR fault my best friends hate me! It's YOUR fault my whole house is against me! It's your fault my reputation is ruined! Everything's your fault!" she screamed.  
  
"You're right. It is my fault," he said, sincerely. "It's completely my fault I fell in love with you." He sat there for a moment, letting it sink in a bit, before he got up and left. Left her there to think about this.  
  
(TFG: So? REVIEW!) 


	18. The Talk With Craig

(TFG: Hey! Thanks to my reviewers! J.K. Rowling's characters and everything that you have heard somewhere before (except in this story, of course!)  
  
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dracoluva99-Sorry! I have to (well, I don't HAVE to but...) do that... I always do that in my fics! Hehe! Don't worry, she'll get back together with him soon... not this chapter, but soon. I already have it written out.  
  
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umi3-Thanks a lot! :D Here's more! Hehe!)  
  
Discoveries-18-The Talk With Craig  
  
Hermione was really confused. She didn't know what she should do. He just told her her loved her... but she was still being her stubborn self, and refusing to tell him that she felt the same way. And even though she'd explained numerous times to her friends and house members, that she was seeing Malfoy no longer, they wouldn't believe her. So she might as well go back to him...  
  
"Watch it!" she said, as someone pushed past her and nearly knocked her over. She regained her balance, and saw just in time, as Malfoy turned into a classroom a few feet in front of her. "Why the NERVE of him!" she cried, in outrage.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hey, little... I mean, BIG guy," some second year said, pushing a very chubby first year a bit. "How-" push "-ya-" push "-doing?" Push. This time he actually fell down on his back, in a mud puddle.  
  
Hermione watched as this happened, and then quickly rushed over to the boy, as the other two left. "Here," she said, holding out her hand, which he accepted, and stood up. He looked awful. He was all covered in mud, and he even had a bruise on his eye, and a cut on his lip where a few drops of blood ran down his chin.  
  
"What happened?" she asked. "What did those second years do?"  
  
"Oh... it's n-nothing... really. They always pick on me like that. I'm fine now, though," the boy said.  
  
Her eyes were still full of concern, as she asked, "Do you want me to take you to Madam Pomfrey?"  
  
"W-Who?" he asked. "Oh wait... the hospital wing, you mean?"  
  
"Yes. She'll fix you right up, and get rid of those cuts and bruises."  
  
"N-N-No. I'm fine," he said.  
  
"Just the same, I'm going to take you," she insisted, holding onto one of his hands and taking him to the castle. After a while she didn't need to hold his hand, because he just automatically followed her.  
  
"So, what's your name, anyway?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Craig... Craig Yokiva."  
  
"Oh, that's right. I saw you at the sorting. I thought you looked familiar."  
  
"Why? Because I'm fat?" he asked, but not really expecting an answer.  
  
She didn't really want to give him one, though, so it worked out well. Because that WAS what she had thought when she first saw him, and that WAS how she recognized him after he said his name. Because he was a little on the heavy side... okay, REALLY on the heavy side. That's why he got picked on, she supposed.  
  
"I'm in Gryffindor, as well," Hermione said.  
  
"Then how come I never see you there?" he asked, confused.  
  
"Oh! It's because I'm Head Girl this year, and me and the Head Boy have different living quarters. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way," she added, forgetting she hadn't said that before.  
  
"Oh, nice to meet you," he said.  
  
He was really polite! She wouldn't have known that from looking at him. He was sort of like a younger version of Neville, she supposed. Well... in a way. Neville was picked on often because he wasn't very bright, but this boy was because of his looks. Both were quiet, or at least, she THOUGHT this boy was.  
  
"Nice to meet you, too," she said. Just then, they had reached the Hospital Wing. "Well, here we are," she said, walking him inside.  
  
Madam Pomfrey saw their arrival, and left the person she was working on, to come over and see what happened. "What's happened?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, some boys were picking on Craig, here, and he got bruised and cut. I thought you could just fix him a little," Hermione said.  
  
"Why of course!" Madam Pomfrey said. "Right this way, child," she said, leading Craig to another bed, and sitting him down. He waved good-bye to Hermione, and she did the same, smiling at him.  
  
"That poor kid," she said to herself, as she left. "Why do people have to be so cruel?"  
  
"I don't know, you know... that's a very good question."  
  
Hermione spun around, and saw Malfoy looking at her. She didn't say anything, and he said no more. Instead he just continued walking right past her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hermione!" a small voice said.  
  
She spun around searching for it's owner. "Oh, hi Craig!" she said, spotting him running over to her. "Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Yes. Much better. Thank you for taking me to the hospital wing."  
  
"Oh, no problem. I'm glad you're feeling well," Hermione said. "So, what class do you have now?"  
  
"Double Potions with the Slytherins," he said, sounding really depressed.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I know how you feel. But you know, you're going to have to learn to get used to it sometime... you'll have it until you graduate."  
  
"Really?!" he asked, as if it was the end of the world.  
  
She nodded. "Afraid so. I do, too. And I'm not so fond of it, either. I never muched liked the Slytherins. Well, except for...... nevermind."  
  
"Except for, what? Who?" Craig asked.  
  
"Nobody important. I'll see you later, Craig!" she said, going to her next class, which, unfortunately, was Arithmancy... with Malfoy.  
  
(TFG: REVIEW, please!) 


	19. Gryffindor VS Slytherin

(TFG: Thanks for all the reviews! J.K. Rowling owns the characters and stuff! Except I made up a few characters for the quidditch teams because the older ones left so... there needed to be more players! Ooh! I'm getting more ideas for this, so, hopefully, it'll be a long story... or my longest yet! :D  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-lol! no, it's not going to be Herm and Craig! Don't worry!  
  
Allie-Nope, just haven't updated in a while. But aren't you the one who emailed me? Just saying that anyway, in case you're not.  
  
Sighhhhh-Oh my gosh! Thank you! Seriously! Thanks! Yeah, I think I like this one best out of all my fanfics so far, but I'm trying to make them better as I write more of them...  
  
Starrynights13-lol! yeah, me too, but... (unfortunately)... she IS going to want him back... sigh...Thanks! and... you cried? I made someone cry? I feel so special! I'm going to use these newly developed skills to my full potential and rule the world! mua ha ha ha haaaaaaa! heheh... just kiddin'! :D  
  
Hero-Thanks! Thanks for the ideas, too! *grins but doesn't say anything because if she says she might use those ideas people will know what's going to happen* heheh... ooops! Oh, no! how does that come off! aaaah! now you all know! (sry, I'm in a good mood....) But I LOVE when Ron and Malfoy have fights! hahaaa! cuz Ron's temper 'n' stuff and Malfoy will be standing there innocently, just casually saying something nice about Ron's family and Ron has to get all mean about it and.... *grins again*  
  
dracoluva99-Thanks!  
  
Lilie Blaze-You mean I almost made TWO people cry? Go meee! J/k! I know, she IS mean... we Draco fans should all get together and make him see reason *wink* *wink* Thank you!  
  
superwtichysunshine-Thanks! Yeah, but is your penname 'superwtichysunshine'? or 'superwitchysunshine'? Just wondering, cuz I dunno if it'll make a difference, and if that was just a spelling error (I think so, but I dunno)  
  
Discoveries-19-Gryffindor VS. Slytherin  
  
Hermione, reluctantly, but not wanting to be late for class, made her way up the tower to her Arithmancy class, where she knew Malfoy would be waiting. Hopefully he wouldn't talk to her. She wasn't in the mood. But when would she be?  
  
As she thought, he was sitting right there, by the door, in his usual spot. For once in her life, she wasn't the first one there. In fact, she was the last one there. Everyone else was already seated, and had their books out. She quickly moved over to her desk, took her seat, and watched the front of the room for the teacher. She wasn't there, yet. (TFG: I can't remember if their teacher was a male or female... I think it mentioned in one of the books though, I just forgot! :/)  
  
A moment later, the teacher came into the room, and looked out at all her students. "Hello, and welcome class!" she said. "Let me just take role, and then we'll begin." She shuffled around and found a piece of parchment with the student's names on it. "Abbott, Hannah." "Here." "Bones, Susan." "Here." "Finch-Fletchley, Justin." "Here." "Granger, Hermione." "Here." Malfoy, Draco." "Here."  
  
Hermione sort of zoned out, and quit paying attention to the role call. It suddenly dawned on her, that Malfoy was the only Slytherin in this whole class. It mainly consisted of Gryffindors, and Hufflepuffs. There were a few Ravenclaws as well. But he was the only Slytherin. Why had he chosen this class? Now that she thought about it, he was never in this class before. She'd had this class since her third year, but Malfoy hadn't. She was almost positive of that. Had he switched this last year? Or was it her imagination? Had he....?  
  
"Miss Granger!"  
  
She snapped her head up to the front of the room, and saw the teacher watching her. Then she looked around the classroom to see all the other students staring at her. One even whispered something to another, and they both chuckled a bit. She glared at them.  
  
What happened? She'd been daydreaming for that long?  
  
"Miss Granger, perhaps you'd like to sit outside in the hall for a while? Or would you like to start paying more attention?"  
  
"No, professor... I'll pay attention."  
  
"Good, then. I didn't want to have to punish you, Miss Granger. Let's continue with the lesson...."  
  
So for the rest of the lesson, she didn't daydream at all. Not even once. She listened patiently to the teacher, and everything she had to say, and took notes on every detail. At the end of class, the teacher called her up.  
  
"Miss Granger? Are you feeling alright?"  
  
"Yes, yes. I'm fine. I'm terribly sorry about that. It'll never happen again," she apologized.  
  
"As long as nothing's bothering you... I'll see you on Monday," the Professor said.  
  
"Okay. Thank you."  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts first quidditch match of the year! I'm Alyssa Jordan, and I'll be your commentator! It's Gryffindor versus Slytherin! And an exciting match is in store for you! So stay right where you are, and the game will begin soon!"  
  
Hermione laughed a bit. She already knew what sorts of things would be said by Alyssa Jordan today about the match. She was just like her brother, Lee Jordan, and favored the Gryffindor team. Of course, it WAS against Slytherin. But even if it wasn't, she'd always say 'GO, GRYFFINDORS!' no matter what. Hermione had the feeling Alyssa had a slight crush on Harry, and if that was true, Ginny would have to watch out.  
  
As soon as everyone was seated in the bleachers, Alyssa continued. "Welcome, all wizards, witches and professors! Today is Gryffindor versus Slytherin! Please welcome the Gryffindor quidditch team!"  
  
Hermione watched as Harry flew out first. Followed by Ron, the new keeper. Then came the two beaters, Mark and Max, twin brothers, in their fourth year. And last came the three, fourth year chasers, Cathy, Brittany, and Alex.  
  
Hermione got along with all the team players. Well, other than now. But she still cheered for them anyway. Alex was probably her favorite, other than her best friends. Alex was a girl, named Alexandra, but she was more of a tomboy. She was really nice and caring.  
  
Then there was Brittany, and Cathy. They were really girly, and loved to go shopping and paint their nails, and do all the normal girl stuff. They were pretty cool, too. But sometimes they were a little too... snobby. Only sometimes, though.  
  
Mark and Max, were by far the funniest. They reminded Hermione of the Weasley twins so much, it was almost uncanny. She guessed that there would always be someone or a group of trouble-makers like them. There was James Potter and Sirius Black... Fred and George Weasley... now Mark and Max Maller (TFG: I'm not good with last names, okay? I was trying to think of something in French, like that means trouble-maker, or mischief... but I couldn't think of the word! And I don't have my french dictionary here!). It was always intertaining to watch those two.  
  
Of course Harry, and Ron would probably always be her favorite players. No matter how mad they were at her. She loved them like brothers, and it would never change. Even if they continued to not like her, as they were now. Although she wished they'd change their minds....  
  
"Now, here comes the Slytherin team," Alyssa said.  
  
Malfoy came out first, and then a bunch of other people she didn't know... all males of course. There had probably never been a female on the Slytherin team in the whole history of the school. That bothered her so much. It was really sexist, and she hated it. But then again, it wasn't her house, so she didn't have to worry as much about it.  
  
"Let the game begin!" Alyssa said, when everyone was in position, and all the balls were loose. "There goes Brittany, after the quaffle. Ooh, watch out! Devon is coming from the other end, right where you're headed. If you don't look out he'll-! Ouch! That's gotta hurt. Harry is still in search of the golden snitch. No sign of it yet. And Ron is doing an excellent job of protecting those posts at the Gryffindor end. Good going, Ron! With all that excellent practice, and the best brooms money can buy, Gryffindor team has a good chance of winning! Just look at that amazing flying out there! How can they not win? And just watch as they kick Slytherin team's slimy little a-"  
  
Hermione, now looking to where Alyssa sat with the teachers, saw the microphone being yanked out of Alyssa's hands by Professor McGonagall. She couldn't hear what was being said, but she knew Alyssa was being talked to about favoritism, and language use. She'd been known to say those sorts of things before, at previous quidditch matches. Alyssa got the microphone back, and continued her job.  
  
"Ooh, look everyone! Harry's onto something! I think he's seen the snitch! And Malfoy's close behind! He'd gaining, but it's still no match for Harry's quality broom! Aha! Take that Malfoy!" Alyssa said, triumphantly.  
  
Meanwhile, Hermione was staring wide-eyed, at what just happened. While Malfoy was paying attention to the snitch and Harry, he hadn't seen the bludger come pelting toward him, sent by Mark Maller. And it hit him directly in the stomach!  
  
(TFG: I know they don't have microphones because it's a muggle thing, but I didn't want it to be that spell that they use (like Ludo Bagman used in 'Goblet of Fire'). I wanted Professor McGonagall to take it away, and well... yeah. Just pretend they have something like a microphone that they use. And REVIEW, please!) 


	20. Poor Malfoy

(TFG: J.K. Rowling owns the characters and anything that seems familiar to you other than this story! :D  
  
Genuine-Earlier I looked it up (why I didn't before, I have no idea! I'm just stupid, I guess) and Professor Sinistra is the astronomy teacher (female) and the arithmancy teacher is Professor Vector (female, too, I think...) But thank you!  
  
Vanillastar-Well... you'll find out! :D  
  
JoeBob1379-lol! Thanks!  
  
Me-Thanks! Is this soon enough for you? heheh...  
  
SlytherinGoddess-Yeah, I love Slytherin, too, but I wanted... NO! I DIDN'T want to hurt Draco, I just... erm... I don't know!  
  
Camoflague71-Sorry, it's too mushy... I have a tendancy to do that... erm... sometimes... but this story is gonna get REALLY dramatic like... uh.. well, I can't really say cuz then it wouldn't be a surprise!!!  
  
Athena-Thank you so much! Thanks for the help with the bold and the italics, too! I'm not going to do that for this one, but I'll try it next time! And I like your penname! :D  
  
DracoLegolasOliver r sexy-Thanks!  
  
Individualists-Thanks for reviewing! )  
  
Discoveries-20-Poor Malfoy!  
  
Hermione stood there, paralyzed. She just couldn't move. She watched as Malfoy went faster and faster until he hit the ground with a thud, his broom landing a few feet away, with a crack and a snap. But who cared about the broom?! Hermione wanted to know what was wrong with Malfoy. She couldn't really tell from here how badly he was hurt. All she knew was that bludgers could really do some damage. Afterall, how many times had Harry been hit by one? At least three times, she could count right off the bat.  
  
Malfoy still wasn't moving. He just lay there, and she couldn't tell, but she guessed his eyes were closed. Just then, two men came out, each lifting one end of his body, and carrying him to the hospital wing.  
  
She hadn't even been paying attention to anything else, and was surprised when people were getting up and leaving. All were disappointed, but not sad one bit. Not even the least bit worried or anything. Not even the members of his own house, Slytherin!  
  
She followed the crowd, and headed to Gryffindor tower. When she spotted Craig, she went over to him, and asked, "What happened? How come everyone's leaving?"  
  
"Re-match next Saturday. Harry caught the snitch, but it was after Malfoy fell, and he kept saying he never saw it happen, but they said a re-match anyways. I don't think they believed him," Craig answered. "How come you didn't know? Weren't you paying attention?"  
  
"Yeah... well, no. I was looking to see what happened to Dr- Malfoy." She corrected herself just in time. He had no idea of what had happened before with her and Malfoy. And she didn't want him to know. He was very nice to her, but would he be if he found out she associated with Slytherins?  
  
"Oh. Isn't his name Malfoy?"  
  
"Yes. Why?"  
  
"Then how come you said Dr- Malfoy?" he asked, trying to get it out of her.  
  
"What do you mean? I said Draco," then she threw a hand over her mouth, realizing what she'd just said. "I-I mean... Malfoy."  
  
"Why do you call him Draco? Are you friends with him or something? Did you have a fight or something?" Craig asked.  
  
"No, we're not friends."  
  
"Then why do you call him...?" Then his eyes widened. "You mean you... and HIM... were together? Like... going out?"  
  
She nodded. She might as well tell him. No use in denying it now, after he already pretty much knew.  
  
"How come you're not anymore? What was the fight about?"  
  
"It's nothing... really," she said, trying to sound sure, but failing miserably.  
  
"Seriously... you can tell me anything, and I won't tell anyone," Craig said.  
  
"Okay... this summer, we were assigned a project that had to be completed in order for us to be head boy and girl. It was sort of a test, to see whether we could get along or not. See, before that, we were practically enemies. Only because my best friend, Harry, and him are, so I sort of am by association. Anyways, it really sucked at first, but then we started liking each other, and when we came back to school it was a disaster. Everyone started hating me, even Harry and Ron, because I was going out with a Slytherin. Everyone in the SCHOOL, hated me. And I just couldn't take it. So I told him, he got upset, and nobody believed me when I said I wasn't seeing him anymore."  
  
"I don't think you believe it yourself," Craig said. "I think that in reality, deep down, you do still care for him a lot. You just don't want to show it because you don't think you have any friends."  
  
"It's true. I DON'T have any friends."  
  
"You still have me."  
  
Hermione just smiled at him, and started crying a little. It was amazing how sweet he was, and she was just so glad that he was her friend. "Thank you!" she said, and gave him a hug.  
  
"You don't have to thank me. I'm glad to have you as a friend."  
  
"And I'm glad to have YOU as a friend."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Later that night, when Hermione was lying in bed, trying to get to sleep, she suddenly heard a little voice in her head. 'I don't think you believe it yourself. I think that in reality, deep down, you do still care for him a lot.'  
  
"It's true... I do still care for him," she whispered.  
  
"Herm? Did you say something?"  
  
"What? Oh, Parvati? No, I was just talking to myself. Sorry about that." Nobody said anything. "Parvati?" Then a couple of snores came from the bed where Parvati slept. She laughed silently.  
  
When the laughter was gone, she got out of bed, and, as quietly as she could, tiptoed to the door, and down the stairs, trying as hard as she could not to wake anyone. She reached the hospital wing, and opened the door, she froze, as it creaked, slightly, waited a minute, but still nothing, and continued inside. She closed the door behind her, and looked around. She spotted Malfoy right away, as his bed was right by the window, and moonlight shone through and illuminated his white-blonde hair.  
  
Sitting on the edge of his bed, and running her fingers through his hair, she slowly began humming something. She did that for only a couple minutes or so, before she heard a soft, "Hermione?"  
  
His eyes were open now, and he turned his head to look at her. He tried to sit up, but by the look on his face, she knew it hurt, and she gently pushed him back down. He didn't refuse. "What are you doing here?" he whispered.  
  
"I came to see you," she whispered back.  
  
"Why? I thought you were mad at me," he said, laughing a bit.  
  
She just smiled. "Not anymore." Then, "You should get your rest though. I'll see you tomorrow in class."  
  
"I won't be going to class tomorrow. Pomfrey's making me stay two more days."  
  
"Oh. In that case, I'll come visit you. And I'll get all your homework for you. You don't want to fall behind."  
  
He laughed.  
  
"Good night, Draco."  
  
"Good night, Hermione."  
  
(TFG: Good night, reader! LOL! J/k! Sry! Haha! Okay, I'm fine. REVIEW, please! And OOOH! I got LOTSA ideas for this story! I'm gonna have some horror in it, too, but I can't tell you why cuz you'd probably guess who it is then! So I can't tell you! Oh, wait you might not... well, I'll just tell you SOMEBODY is going to die. But don't let that discourage you! It won't have a sad ending. Only some will be sad. I'm going to try to make it lots of genres. Like romance (duh!), humor, horror, and stuff. I dunno what else yet, but I'll think of something! I get a new idea everytime I write a new chapter, so... yeah! REVIEW!) 


	21. Late Night Visits To The Hospital Wing

(TFG: Hey, all! What's up? That's good. But I don't really care... j/k! Okay, I'm to the story now! J.K.'s characters!  
  
Sinnient Evans-Sry! I know this wasn't very soon, but, erm... sorry!  
  
Kerbi-Ur welcome for reviewing u, and thanks for reviewing meee! Heheh! And I'll finish reading urs later. It's great, tho!  
  
JoeBob1379-Yeah, I know... I'll probably get lotsa flames when one of the character dies, but... yeah. I know, it's sooo sad. But I already wrote those chapters, so.... omg, tho! I scared myself when I was writing them! It was creepy, cuz the room was dark, and then my mom scared me and omg! Just too eerie, and, yeah. Can't give it away!  
  
silver-eyed-girl-Yeah, I'll read it soon. I might not have time today, but I will later.  
  
tom felton's babe-No, probably not. I almost wrote something like that (not real descriptive or anything, but where it starts out and then it kinda lets readers imagine it for themselves) but I'm not good at that kinda writing so it turned out really bad. I just deleted the chapter, and I'm gonna re-write it but not the same idea. Sorry!  
  
Crystalnia-Nope! I'm not gonna finish it! There's nothing you could say or do to make me finish it!........................................... Just kidding!!!! Of course I will!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-yeah, it's gonna be really sad when _______ dies. Thank you!  
  
Athena-Thanks you sooo much!  
  
DracoLegolasOliver r sexy-Thanks!  
  
dani-Thanks! Yeah, I wanted a new character and I just thought of him somehow, so... yeah.  
  
irelandkicksass03-Nopes... it's not over yet! Don't worry! heheh... hopefully there'll still be lots more, but it's only if I get ideas. There will be at least five more chapters (mostly of the sad stuff that I've already written) tho, and I'm working on more of them.  
  
couch-potato-:D  
  
KAOS-Yeah, I know! I keep forgetting that! I almost wrote the same thing again yesterday when I was writing this one chapter (that I deleted cuz it sucked)... lol! I'm so dumb sometimes! Thanks!  
  
A-writer-for-life-Thank youuuu! :D  
  
Allie (a.k.a. "email person" lol!)-Okey-dokeys! Just checkin'! Thanks!  
  
Begah520-Well, heeeeere's more! Sry, I know that sounded really Barney- ish... lol! Now I can almost heard him saying that! I just scared myself!  
  
Individualists-Well, all I can say is I've already written the chapters where _________ dies, so I wouldn't change it now. Not saying it's him, or isn't him or anything, tho... just lettin' ya know. lol! I can tell!)  
  
Discoveries-21-Late Night Visits To The Hospital Wing  
  
That night, Hermione got to sleep a lot better, after going to see Draco. And things were going pretty good. She had a friend (Craig) and a boyfriend (Draco). She just wanted to be friends with Harry and Ron again, though.  
  
The whole day, Hermione carried around twice as much as she normally would. She had Draco's homework and classwork with her so he could catch up, and she wanted to make sure he did that. So after dinner she came by with his homework, and helped him through it, to make sure he was doing it right.  
  
"Thanks for all the help, Hermione," he said, when they finished.  
  
"Of course! You need to keep up your good grades!" she said. "I'll see you again tomorrow." She leaned down and kissed him, before leaving.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hello, Hermione," Craig said, as Hermione came into the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"Oh, hi, Craig," she said. "I just thought I'd stop by and see how you were. I just got done bringing Draco his homework assignments."  
  
"Oh... so are you two back together, then?"  
  
She nodded, and smiled.  
  
"That's good to hear."  
  
"Yeah, it is," Hermione said. "Well, what are you working on?"  
  
"Oh, just something for Potions class. I think I got it now though. I can always finish it later."  
  
"Well, I actually have to talk to Harry and Ron for a minute. That's one of the reasons I came," Hermione said. "So I'll see you later."  
  
She found Harry and Ron very easily... Ron because of his bright red hair, and Harry, because he was always with Ron. She walked over to them, both, who were engaged in a game of wizard chess. She tried not to disturb them while they were thinking, but as soon as Harry made his move, she spoke. "Hey, guys."  
  
They looked up. "What do you want?" Harry asked.  
  
"Can't I say hi?" she asked, hurt.  
  
"Yeah, but don't expect us to say 'hi' back," Ron answered.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, frustrated.  
  
"You already know the answer. You're going out with Malfoy. We hate Malfoy, and personally wish to never hear or see him ever again. If we were friends with you, we'd be around him more," Harry said.  
  
"You ARE my friends!" she protested.  
  
"Not anymore, Herm. You're going out with the enemy," Ron said.  
  
"You ALWAYS say that!" Hermione said. "I wish for once you could just be happy for me!!!" With that, she left.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
"Hi, Draco."  
  
"What are you doing here so late?"  
  
"Just here to see you, of course," Hermione responded. "Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Well, sort of. But it kinda hurts here," he pointed to his stomach. "Not as much as yesterday, though."  
  
"Would you like me to kiss it and make it all better?" she offered. He nodded. She lifted his shirt slowly, and bent down to kiss him. After she did, she climbed in bed next to him and lay her head on his chest, her arms around him, and his around her.......  
  
Hermione didn't know how much later it was when she awoke, but a quick glance at the clock told her that. It was exactly 7:20... she'd have just enough time to get back to her room, freshen up a bit, grab her things, and head down to the great hall for breakfast. An alternative would be to just skip the food, and go straight to the books. She'd done that before, but it wasn't healthy.  
  
She rose, and smiled at the sleeping form of Draco, then left.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Hermione sighed, and pushed her dinner away from her, looking once more down the table at her ex-best friends. Resting her chin upon her hand, she looked around at the rest of the house tables, then to the staff table. She spotted Hagrid, and waved.  
  
Hagrid! That's what she'd do... go and talk to Hagrid as soon as dinner was over, and see what he said about the whole mess.  
  
She sat the rest of the time just twirling food around on her plate with her fork, and staring off into space. Finally when people were leaving, she leapt up and tried to get out of the great rush of students leaving the great hall. She slipped outside, while others went back to their rooms, and jogged over to Hagrid's hut.  
  
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!  
  
The door swung open, and Hagrid stood there, smiling at her. "Hello, Hermione! Good ter see yeh!" He said, then noticed her expression. "Whassa matter?"  
  
She started walking inside, and he stepped back to allow her to do so, closing the door behind her. She sat down in a giant chair, and began. "Hagrid! It's awful! Harry and Ron aren't speaking to me. And it's all because of a stupid little thing, too! I hate it!"  
  
"What? What happened?"  
  
"It's because of Mal- I mean, Draco and I. Ron thinks I'm seeing 'the enemy' and Harry just doesn't want to talk to me for the same reason... because it's HIM and all. And it's so stupid and ridiculous! I mean, I never complained when Harry went out with Cho and Ron went out with Padma... although I thought they were very wrong for each other. And now they aren't talking to me or anything! It's not like I'm forcing them to be friends! And we've been friends for so long... BEST friends..."  
  
"Aww, don' cry Hermione! Cheer up! It's not the end o' the world! They'll come 'round soon 'nough, yeh'll see!" Hagrid said, trying to make her feel better. He lifted a tray of rock cakes off the table, and held them out to her. She waved her hand, as if dismissing them.  
  
"If they were ever really loyal to yeh, they'll be back wishin' they'da said somethin' sooner, and yeh'll get along just fine, just like the old days!" Hagrid said.  
  
Hermione smiled, wiped a tear from her eye and said, "Thanks, Hagrid."  
  
(TFG: Heheh! REVIEW!) 


	22. Forgive And Forget

(TFG: J.K. Rowling owns the characters, I am only temporarily borrowing them... *coughdracocough* Anyway.........  
  
snwflakesweety-Don't worry... this chapter... well.... sorta gives it away, but... this chapter's good... just DRAMATIC! But most of the rest of the story will be, too... I'll try to even it out a bit, though. Like adding a few non-dramatic chapter in somewhere later. I don't have it all figured out yet, though. Thank you!  
  
dani-thanks! and, maybe... maybe not. But the chapter kind of suggests something good will happen (the title, I mean)  
  
DragonFly-Okay... here ya go!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-Thanks! Yeah, I know... they are, aren't they? Why do they have to be so mean?  
  
dREaM cHiK-Thanks! I know, they're sooo mean!  
  
DracoLegolasOliver r sexy-I've written more... and here it is! Heheh!  
  
caroline-Don't worry, I will.)  
  
Discoveries-22-Forgive and Forget  
  
Hermione and Draco, now out of the hospital wing, one fine evening, were just strolling down the corridors, hand in hand, when someone came running towards them, nearly knocking Hermione over. "Whoa! Slow down there, buddy," Draco said. Hermione looked at the person who'd come their way. It was Neville.   
  
"Neville! What are you doing?" Hermione asked, surprised.  
  
"Oh, Hermione! Have you seen Trevor?" Neville asked, in a panicky voice.   
  
She shook her head. "No, I haven't seen him, Neville. Sorry."  
  
"Okay, well, thanks!" Neville said, running off again, looking at the ground the whole time. He nearly ran into someone else, too, but they moved out of the way just in time.   
  
"Boy! I've never seen him run that fast before!" Hermione said. "I wonder why he was so upset about finding his toad."   
  
"Miss Granger. Mr. Malfoy." They both looked up at Professor McGonagall. "What are you doing in the hall? You are supposed to be at your astronomy lesson."  
  
"Oh, sorry Professor," Draco said.  
  
"Oh, my god! I'm late for Astronomy? I'm late for astronomy!" Hermione said, worriedly, grabbing Draco's hand and running towards the tower in which that class was held. She reached the doors, threw them open, and pulled Draco in behind her. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry Professor!" Hermione apologized. "I completely forgot! It'll never happen again, I swear!"  
  
"That's quite alright, Miss Granger. But please, do take a seat with your classmates. You too, Mr. Malfoy," the professor advised.  
  
They did as told, and listened to the teacher talk about their lesson for the night. In the middle of explaining, someone burst in through the door. It was Professor Snape. "Professor Sinistra! Come quick! There's been some sort of accident involving Longbottom, and we need your help!"   
  
"Alright, class! Just stay here and wait, and I'll be back soon!" Professor Sinistra said, rushing out the door behind the potions master.  
  
"Hermione!" Ron said. She turned and faced him, so did everyone else. "How come you came to class late? That's not like you. And with... Malfoy of all people!"  
  
"For your information, Weasley, we were just walking down that hall. Not that it's any of your business, and we just lost track of the time. So EXCUSE me, if I don't feel all too guilty about it," Hermione said, purposely calling Ron, 'Weasley' to make him upset. It worked, too. His ears began turning red, then his face. Pretty soon he looked like he was on fire.   
  
Suddenly, he lunged at Malfoy and tackled him. He started beating him with his wand, but it wasn't working, so he threw it aside, and started punching him in the stomach. "Ron, don't!" Hermione cried, trying to pull him off. Harry came to her rescue and pulled Ron off of Draco. But then she realized it wasn't for her.....  
  
"Ron, calm down," he said. "Wizards duel," Harry said to Malfoy. "I'm Ron's second. And yours is...?" Harry looked around, even though he knew it would be neither Crabbe nor Goyle.   
  
"I'm not going to have one. Because I don't plan on losing," Draco said.  
  
"Ah... that's right," Harry said, somewhat sarcastically. "Well, you two can start anytime. I'll just sit here and watch, for now."  
  
Ron raised his wand, at the same time as Draco. They held them in position, then turned around and took five paces (the room was small) in the opposite direction. They turned and faced each other. "One... two... three!" Harry counted.  
  
Ron went first, "Locomotor Mortis!" Draco's legs snapped together, and he tried moving them, but it wouldn't work.   
  
"Engorgio!" Draco shouted. The spell went and hit Ron, right on the nose, enlarging it to almost twice it's normal size. The Slytherins, despite the fact they hated Draco at the moment, howled in laughter, pointing at Ron.   
  
Ron, shaking with anger, yelled, "Expelliarmus!" Except, because he was shaking so much, his wand was as well... Draco had jumped out of the way, well, more like fell down (because his legs were locked together), and the spell was aimed just perfectly so it hit a mirror, bounced off, and hit Hermione...  
  
Hermione, who had been standing right beside an open window, was thrown backwards, and out the window, as her wand remain on the floor, rolling towards Ron's position in the room. Everyone rushed forwards... Harry, Ron, and Draco, in the front, while the others tried to push their way to the front, it didn't work. Looking down, they saw their dear old friend, Hermione, dangling from a lower part of the tower that stuck out only about five inches, just barely holding onto the ledge.   
  
"Hermione!!!" The three boys yelled, at the top of their lungs.   
  
"Hermione, hang on!" Draco said.   
  
"She is hanging on you dimwit!" Ron said.  
  
"Oh, shut the hell up, Weasley!" Draco retorted. "This is all your fault, you know! All your bloody fault!"  
  
"Help!" Hermione screamed. "Help me, somebody!" Hermione turned to look behind her, and when she saw how far up she was, she nearly screamed again, and one of her hands slipped off. She wobbled around furiously, as Harry, Ron and Draco still were yelling out her name. She reached up and grabbed onto the ledge again, with that hand. "HELP!" She was scared out of her mind. If she fell... she'd die. It was way to much of a fall for her to recover from. "HELP ME!!!"  
  
"Move out of the way, Potter! Weasley!" Draco said, pushing them aside, and swinging his legs over the windowsil. He turned his body, grabbed a hold of the ledge with his hands, and let his body drop, so he too was hanging there. Then he looked all around for something else to hold on with. He found a spot, and moved along, down the wall of the tower. He kept doing this, and finally looked down again. Realizing he was only halfway to her, he mentally cursed himself, and kept going. "I'm coming Hermione! I'm coming!" he said, trying to comfort her.   
  
"Hurry, Draco! I can't hold on much longer!" Hermione said.   
  
Draco did hurry, and ending up slipping, himself. He kept trying to grab onto something, but each time he wasn't fast enough. He was falling tremendously fast. When he saw a larger piece of cement poking out, he reached out early, and managed to grab hold. He looked to his right, and there was Hermione, looking more scared than he'd ever seen her before.   
  
Draco reached out to grab her hand, and they fell, hand in hand, once more. He stuck his available hand in his pocket, pulled out his wand, and yelled, "Accio broomstick!" They kept falling, but then Hermione said, "Draco! Look!" It was his new broom, flying towards them. If it didn't get closer soon, they might not make it. It kept getting closer, and closer. Draco stretched his arm out as far as he could, and grasped the broom tightly in his hand. Then he swung himself onto it, and went up into the air quickly, right before they hit the ground. He stopped, hovering for a minute, while he helped Hermione climb up behind him. She wrapped her arms around him, and they flew up to the tower.   
  
Everyone inside backed up to allow them to come through, and they landed softly on the classroom floor. Dismounting the broom, Hermione held onto Draco as tight as she could. "Thank you! You saved my life!" she gasped, looking into his eyes. "You're worth it," he whispered. They both smiled, weakly, leaned forward and gave each other a small kiss on the lips.   
  
When Hermione let go of him, she looked around seeing all the other people staring at them. Ron came running forwards and hugged her as well, when he let go, Harry did the same.   
  
"Oh my god, Hermione! We are so sorry!" Ron said. "I can't believe it! I almost killed you! I would never forgive myself if something like that happened and it was all my fault! And the last thing I said to you was that I hated you. I am so sorry!"  
  
"Yeah, Hermione! Me, too! Please forgive us!" Harry said, both of them looking at her with puppy-dog eyes.   
  
Hers, on the other hand, were filled with tears. One slipped out, then another, and another. Soon her face was sticky with teardrops. "Of course!" she said, smiling.   
  
Just then, the door opened again, and Professor Sinistra came through. "My dear boy, you should be careful when casting spells! If you say them wrong, like you did, you might end up creating something worse out of the situation!" She said. "Giant toads!" She shook her head. It was then that they saw Neville Longbottom following her.  
  
The professor looked up and saw her students all standing there with mixed emotions on their faces. "What happened? Why are you crying, Granger? Why is there a broomstick on my floor? And... Mr. Weasley! Why is your nose so large?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! "C'min!" Came Hagrids voice from inside the hut. When the door opened, there he stood, looking the same as always. His face turned into a smile as soon as he realized who was standing at the door. It was Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Well come on in!" he said. "I've dun made sum rock cakes if yeh wan' sum!"   
  
"No, thanks," Hermione giggled, stepping inside first, the other two following her. They all took seats in different areas of the room... Ron, coincedentally, by Fang the boarhound, who immediately started drooling all over him.  
  
"It's good teh see yeh! Yeh've dun made up an' all then?" Hagrid asked.  
  
"Yes, Hagrid," Harry said.  
  
"It was all our faults," Ron admitted. "And we almost hurt Hermione." He then went on to explain what had happened, and how they were friends again, while Hagrid listened, patiently.  
  
"Well, all I'll say is I'm glad yeh three're friends 'gain! Mind yeh, it was wrong of yeh and Malfoy ter go an' start a wizards' duel in class..." Hagrid said, eyeing Ron. "...but yeh learned yer lesson, I'm sure. And ev'rythin's righ' how it should be!"  
  
(TFG: Well??? Dramatic, I know... and I know it was a short chapter, but a lot happened so... er, yeah... REVIEW, please! It would mean LOTS to me!) 


	23. Angry Slytherins

(TFG: I was thinking of putting the next chapter here instead of this one... but then I forgot that I needed something to happen for the next chapter to fit. So I'm writing this one! I know you really didn't need to know that or anything... I'm just weird!  
  
plastic-sry bout the short chapter! Thanks!  
  
Jen Drake-Thanks!  
  
hey-Thanks! yeah, sry it was short!  
  
JoeBob1379-Thank you so much!  
  
Rhia-Yep! Poor Ron...  
  
lazy-don't worry... it's not the end... hopefully it'll be MUCH longer, but I wont' make any promises, just in case...   
  
animegirl-mika-Thanks! Heheh! Yeah, I know... Neville, Neville, Neville... *shakes head sadly*  
  
~Draco's~Girl~-Thanks! I know this is short, but I am updating the next day so... yeah.  
  
i-heArt-dRacO-Yeah, I know... I noticed that I did that, too... I'll try to have more fluff, but the next few chapters are already written out and are really sad so there might not be a whole lot more after that.  
  
Lilie Blaze-That's okay... I'm glad you reviewed again! Thanks!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-Thanks!  
  
GuRL-I don't think that's rude... it's kind of SUPPOSED to be mushy... that's the whole point! But it won't be later. I know I'm probably going to get about a billion flames from everyone saying "how could ____ die?! how?!" because it's really angsty soon. But it's not Draco.  
  
Silver Dragon Goddess-Thanks! Heheh!  
  
DracoLegolasOliver r sexy-Thanks! I will!)  
  
Discoveries-23-Angry Slytherins  
  
"I'm glad you and Harry and Ron are friends again," Craig said, as he and Hermione walked down the hall to dinner.   
  
"Me, too," she said."So how is school going for you? Are you doing better in potions?"  
  
"Yes, I am. Thank you. But I still am annoyed at the teacher."  
  
"Yeah. I've always hated Professor Snape," Hermione said, knowingly.  
  
"No. I don't hate him. I just am angry at him right now. All people have feelings and he is a person, afterall. His feelings should matter. Even if people don't like him, they shouldn't hate him."  
  
Hermione thought about it, but didn't say anything. Just then, a group of Slytherin sixth-years walked up. "Hey, Yokiva!" one of them said.  
  
Craig, and herself, turned around to face them. "What do you want, Malgarcon?" Hermione demanded. "We don't really want to talk to you right now, so if you don't have anything to say... MOVE!"  
  
"Why such a temper, Granger? You aren't happy to see us?"  
  
"No... I personally don't care for Slytherins."  
  
"Not even Malfoy?"  
  
She glared at him. "What's your point?"  
  
"Oh, I just wanted to say hi to my buddy, Craig!" Malgarcon (TFG:I don't know why... that sounds a little weird, but it's two french words put together to say 'bad boy') said, putting an arm around Craig.  
  
"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Hermione said. "I know you aren't really friends with him, so you're only wasting your time pretending!"   
  
"Alright then," he said, an angry look in his eye, as he let go of Craig. "What I really wanted, was to talk to you about something."  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
"In private." She followed him away to a corner of the room, and she watched as the other Slytherins started beating up on Craig.   
  
"Leave him alone!" she cried out, running to him. "He hasn't done anything to you!" She saw Harry walk by and asked, "Harry, could you take Craig back to Gryffindor tower, please? I would myself, but I have to do something." He nodded, and they walked up to the common room. She glared at the Slytherins and walked back to Malgarcon.  
  
"So? I don't have all day you know!"  
  
"Well neither do I!" he said. "I wanted to talk to you about Malfoy."  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"I know you're seeing him."  
  
"So what? Doesn't the whole school?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why what?"  
  
"Why are you going out with a Slytherin? Gryffindors and Slytherins have never gotten along... it's just common knowledge. Besides, you don't even know how many people are mad at you besides your little friends. The whole of Slytherin is very upset about this. And why Malfoy?"  
  
"Because I love him. Is that a good enough reason?"  
  
"Slytherins don't love anyone. And that includes Malfoy."  
  
"Oh, go to hell!" she screamed.  
  
"All I'm saying is you shouldn't be too happy with him... he'll only leave you, like he did Pansy. Gryffindors and Slytherins don't mix. And they never will. So just leave him before he leaves you. It'll only make things better. Besides, how would he feel if he knew you were cheating on him?"  
  
"What the fuck are you talking about you asshole?!"   
  
"With Yokiva? Oh, c'mon.... I know you're not just 'friends' with him. If you were, then how come you're with him almost all the time?"  
  
She slapped him hard across the face, and ran away, all the way to her room and shut the door behind her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The next morning at breakfast, she looked over to the Slytherin table, and saw someone staring at her. It was none other than Malgarcon. He had an evil sort of glint in his eye, and personally... it scared her. She only knew what those people were capable of.  
  
(TFG: Another REALLY short chapter! I know... sorry! But REVIEW, please!) 


	24. The Note

(TFG: J.K. Rowling's! WARNING!!! ATTENTION!!! (I'm doing this in CAPS so that u people who don't read a/n's will notice (maybe))... HELLOOOOOOO!!!! I JUST WANT TO WARN U THAT THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A FEW ANGSTY, CREEPY CHAPTERS! YOU MIGHT WANT TO LOCK UR DOORS AND WINDOWS BEFORE READING!!! j/k!!!  
  
SnWfLaKeSwEeTy-Oh, yeah I know what u mean about the AOL users not working... I have the same problem sometimes. That's okay... thanks for reviewing now!  
  
dREam ChiK-ooh! I'd better update fast in that case (this wasn't fast thought, was it???)! lol! Here it is!!! Thanks for reviewing! And yeah, I hate him, too... ur going to hate him even more in this chapter, though.  
  
Athena-Thanks!  
  
Jen Drake-Well, u'll find out about now... well, next chapter really, if you don't figure it out at the end of this. Thanks!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-Don't worry, Hermione won't die, either. I know... he's so mean!  
  
nikki-Sry! I'm still trying not to make them so short, but yeah... they just turn out that way. And this one and a few after it are REALLY short, but I left them at cliffhangers and kind of a lot happens so... I just wanted to stop at a good part. Sorry! In a fanfic I'm working on (that's not on ff.net yet) the chapters are pretty long... longer than the ones I've been writing anyway. But it's not Draco/Hermione... only sorta, it's not really any ship.  
  
lazy-Thank you!  
  
Silver Dragon Goddess-Thanks! Sorry! I know... that's something I have to work on.  
  
GerHPfa-Ooh! Thank you sooo much! Sorry about confusing you. Oh, and it's going on your favorites list, too? I feel so special!!! Thank you so much!  
  
animegirl-mika-I know... what a jerk! Whoever wrote this must be crazy! Sheesh! j/k! lol... thanks!  
  
Lilie Blaze-Sure... As soon as the stories finished, I'll give you the annoying slytherin brat and you can go ahead and kill him... it might be a while, but I'm sure you won't have changed your mind by then! Heheh! I don't know... ask Hermione. No, seriously, I should've done that! I'm soo incredibly dumb, it's not even funny! Thanks!  
  
JoeBob1379-Actually, something worse...  
  
avri-Thanks!  
  
maxzoid-oh, that's okay. I was just wondering, 'cause I didn't want to keep emailing people if they don't want to read it. Thanks for coming back to read more!)  
  
Discoveries-24-The Note  
  
As Hermione sat eating dinner in the great hall, she was surprised as a letter dropped onto her plate. She looked up quickly, but wasn't fast enough to see exactly WHICH owl brought it. She unrolled the parchment, and read it fast, fear growing in her eyes every second.  
  
'Go To ThE FoRbIdDeN fOrEsT rIgHt NoW iF yOu EvEr WiSh To SeE hIm AgAiN.'  
  
That's all it said, and there was no name. It wasn't even handwriting. It was just like those ransom notes. This worried Hermione. It could just be a joke, but it also could be real! What would she do? And who was it talking about? She scanned the room, but before seeing the whole room, her eyes jumped to the Slytherin table. No Draco... NO DRACO! Where the hell was he?!  
  
'Oh, my god, Hermione! It's okay! It's not him that was mentioned in that letter! Or note, or whatever! It was all a sick joke from another Slytherin, probably! NO! It WAS! Draco is in NO DANGER, whatsoever! I don't need to worry about it!' She thought. But the more she said this, and tried to convince herself otherwise, the more she believed he WAS in trouble.  
  
She rushed out of the great hall, and outside onto the grounds. It was awful outside. All grey and stormy, and rain beat down on her head, and body, and chilled her to the bone. Or maybe that was what she was thinking had happened to Draco.  
  
Either way, she didn't feel all that well right now. But she had to do what the note said if she ever wanted to see Draco again.  
  
She ran into the forest. Where did she have to go? It never said in the note. It just said, to go to the forbidden forest. Now she was panicking. If she never found them, they might think she didn't care, and wasn't coming. Then they'd kill him! Oh, no! She had to find him! She would search the whole forest and she'd FIND him!  
  
She'd been running for what seemed like hours, days, weeks.... it wasn't pointless, but just extremely EXHAUSTING! She didn't know how much more she could take. She checked her watch. She couldn't read it. It was too dark, but she had her wand! She reached into her pocket, pulled it out, and muttered, "Lumos!" Instantly, a small light shot out the end of her wand. She held it over her watch and saw that she'd only been searching for ten minutes. She knew she wasn't anywhere near done, searching. She'd probably only covered one-tenth of the whole forest. And she knew she'd go crazy if she didn't find him soon. She NEEDED to find him. Just to see him and be in his arms again. Was she being silly? Was it really Draco they were talking about? It could've been Harry... or Ron... like that was any better! It had to be someone she loved or they wouldn't have bothered sending HER the note in the first place!  
  
Hermione slowed down, and stood in one spot for a minute to catch her breath. While she did that she heard something in the bushes. What could it be? She snapped her head around, and frantically looked for any sign of something. She was about to scream, when finally she realized it was only Fang, the boarhound. But if Fang was out here, then where was Hagrid? She waited, and even called out his name a few times, but heard nothing. And Fang didn't seem too anxious, so he probably just escaped, and Hagrid was at the school, or in his hut. Or he could be looking for Fang.  
  
"Well, you can just come with me, okay? I need you to help me find Draco. Can you do that?" she was sure Fang had no idea what she'd just said, but he still followed her around. And she felt safe with him there. Or at least more so than when she was alone. Afterall, Hagrid once said that Fang was a coward. Or a 'bloody coward' in his own words.  
  
She just started walking again, when she saw something large up ahead, dangling from a tree. She couldn't tell what exactly it was, but as she came closer, an unmistakable horror filled her eyes.  
  
(TFG: So? Cliffhanger, or what?! haha! I WONDER what it is? Guess! Go ahead, I bet you can't! But like I said, it doesn't have a sad ending, so think CAREFULLY about WHAT it is, and WHO the person that I said would die is going to be. *hint* *hint* REVIEW, please) 


	25. Oh, My God!

(TFG: This is a sad chapter for me to write, and so's the next, but... it makes a good storyline, so here goes!  
  
Silver Dragon Goddess-Well... you'll find out, is all I can say.  
  
Shadow Violet212-Well, you'll find out in this chapter.  
  
Roswell4ever-Thanks!  
  
plastic-lmao! no, not that! but I can't tell you, 'cause it's comin up in this chapter.  
  
Dark Queen of Roses-I didn't put them together... they were already, sorta... but they're not going to be in this story.)  
  
Discoveries-25-Oh My God!  
  
Hermione stood there, frozen to the spot. She couldn't go forward. It was just, too, terrible what had happened. She already knew it had, and there was nothing she could do about it. She needed to go get help! But where was the castle? She'd been wandering around for so long, she didn't know where she was! FANG!  
  
She looked down at him, and said, "Fang. Where's the castle, huh? Can you find it?" Just then, Fang started walking towards the tree, and Hermione said, "No! I can't! The castle! We need to get help! Fang, no!" But Fang just continued to go, and since she didn't want to be left alone, she followed. But he went past the tree, and only about ten feet before they came to a clearing. And not just any clearing, the edge of the woods. They were right behind Hagrid's hut. It was right there the whole time, and she'd wasted all that time. She could've saved him. She could've, and she knew she could never forgive herself for that.  
  
She ran to Hagrid's front door, and knocked hard and fast. She heard noises inside, and the door swung open. "Hermione, what's the matter with yeh? Yeh look like yeh've just seen a ghost!"  
  
"Hagrid! Ifoundhiminheforstndhe'sdeadneedhelprightway!" Hermione said, all very fast, and not very clear.  
  
"Whoa! Slow down, Hermione. I couldn't tell what yeh were sayin'!"  
  
"Dead! In the forest! We need to get help!" Hermione said, urgently, attempting to drag him out of his cabin.  
  
"Who is? Who's dead? What happened?"  
  
"I don't know what happened. But I think I know who's responsible for it. It's those horrible Slytherin sixth years! A group of them! All boys. They've been teasing him and making fun of him all year, and now... now this! They even thought we were going out, but we're just friends, and they got mad at me for something, and then went and killed HIM!"  
  
"Who? Who is it?"  
  
"A first year Gryffindor, named Craig!" (TFG: Told you to THINK HARD! I'd never make Draco die! Well... in my one that's gonna have a sad ending, that I haven't written yet, he and Hermione will, but... nevermind!)  
  
"Yeh mean Craig Yokiva? That short, fat boy who's always bein' made fun of?"  
  
"Yes! That's him! He's out there, hanging from a tree!"  
  
"Well, let's go then!" Hagrid said, pushing right past her and out into the forest. "Which way?"  
  
"This way," she said, going ahead of him, and walking a bit. "I... I can't look! It's that tree though... the other side of it." She pointed, and looked the other way.  
  
"This tree here?" Hagrid asked, and she turned and looked.  
  
"Yeah, that one."  
  
"There's nobody here. Are yeh sure it wasn' a diff'ren' one?"  
  
"I'm positive!" she cried out, walking over and looking at it. "It was RIGHT here!"  
  
"Well, it's not now. Maybe yeh were just 'maginin' things. Come now, let's go back teh me hut, and have a nice cup o' tea."  
  
She agreed. Maybe she was just out of it. The note really scared her. Was she sure of what she saw? It could've been her active imagination. It had been like that lately. She was so frusterated, and scared, that she didn't know WHAT to do. She could've sworn she'd seen it.  
  
"Wait," she said, stopping, and looking around a second. When she still saw nothing, she said, "Okay. I'm coming." She turned. He wasn't there. "Hagrid?" she asked, cautiously. "Hagrid!" a little louder. "HAGRID!" She yelled. Where had he gone? This was NOT her imagination. He was there just a moment ago! And where did Fang go? He was with them, too! Now they were both missing.  
  
Or did she wander off? Was it her fault? Did they forget her? Nah! They wouldn't do that. They were her friends. No matter how angry her other friends were at her, Hagrid and Fang would never hold a grudge like that. And she'd talked to them at least twice, since the year started, and they didn't act any differently towards her.  
  
But if they still cared about her... where were they now? She began to get scared. What could've happened? Did someone get them, too? No! They couldn't've! Hagrid was WAAAAY too large and strong for someone to kidnap them.  
  
She continued walking, when suddenly, something fell on her. "OH MY GOD!!!!!" And she burst into tears.  
  
(TFG: Okay, I know this and the previous chapter were REALLY short, but I wanted to make cliffhangers. Just a little FYI, this is turning out WAAAAAY creepier than intended. This wasn't even going to be a scary story in the beginning, or sad, but now it is! And I keep jumping up in my seat while writing this (shows how brave I am, huh?) because either the phone rings (last night), or my mom'll start humming the "Trading Spaces" theme! lol! and I was like, Oh my gosh! you scared me! Anyways, SORRY if you don't like this! Don't worry, the ending WILL NOT be sad. Not like cry-your-eyes-out sad, anyways. Just a bit, because she notices he's not there at a certain part, and... I can't give it away! Please be kind and REVIEW! And please, no flames or anything like that, I was just trying to make it all different genres. I'm REALLY SORRY!!!!!) 


	26. Nobody Cares

(TFG: Hey! I finally was in the mood to write this sad stuff again.... *sniff* Okay, well, here goes!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-I know... I'm sorry!  
  
DolceEspressivo-Thanks!  
  
JoeBob1379-I know... it's those sick (well, not all of them, only the ones I made up) Slytherins.  
  
plastic-Yep... it was supposed to be freaky... but not as much as it turned out to be.  
  
Athena-Yeah, that's why I did that. 'Cause I want to get better at different genres. Thanks! Yeah, I think I did spell that wrong. There is a 'd' in randsom, I think.  
  
Clare-I know... but I LOOOOOVE cliffies!!! :D  
  
SilverDragonGoddess-oh... yeah, I don't always get creeped out, but sometimes I do really easily... it kinda depends.  
  
SnapeGirl-Yup! I LOOOOOVE cliffhangers! Almost as much as Draco! ... no, wait... I love Draco waaaaaay more, but I still love both! heheh!  
  
PinkPanther-Thanks! And Happy Belated Birthday!!!  
  
avri-yup... at least it's not Draco, but still...)  
  
Discoveries-26-Nobody Cares  
  
Hermione jumped about a foot in the air. 'Fore what had fallen on top of her, was none other than the corpse of her friend Craig. Then she heard footsteps, and they sounded really big. She looked up and relaxed visibly as soon as she saw it was only Hagrid and Fang. "Hermione-? What's wrong? I heard yeh-" Hagrid began, but stopped, as soon as he saw what was on the ground right before them.  
  
"I know, it's awful, Hagrid! I lost you and then I called out to you and then he just.... fell. It was that tree. I showed you the wrong one!" Hermione said, still shaken up by what happened.  
  
He went over to her, and hugged her. "It's okay, Hermione. Yeh'll be alrigh'. I'll make sure o' it."  
  
"But what about Craig?"  
  
"I suppose we should go now and bring him up ter the castle. Dumbledore'll know what ter do," Hagrid suggested.  
  
"Alright."  
  
Hagrid lifted Craig off the ground, and carried him towards Hogwarts. Hermione and Fang followed closely behind. They reached Dumbledore's office soon enough, and Hermione explained, with detail, about the nights events. It was terrible to relive the horror of it all, but she had to tell him. Hopefully she wouldn't have to tell anyone else for a while. Although she knew that wasn't true. People would bug her, because they'd see how she'd act differently, and they'd know something was wrong. Especially Draco. She wondered what he'd say after she told him. He'd probably feel like she did. Or at least sort of. He knew her feelings for Craig were strong, and how he'd helped them get back together by convincing Hermione of her true feelings about Draco. And she'd never forget that.  
  
How could horrible things like this happen to the best people? Why couldn't something like this have happened to her?  
  
"Hermione?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Huh?" she said, snapping out of it. "Sorry, did you say something, professor?"  
  
"Yes. I was just saying you should go back to your dormitory now, and get some rest. You'll need it."  
  
"Will you tell me when....?" she couldn't finish.  
  
"When the funeral is?" She nodded. "Yes, I will. Don't worry. Now get some sleep, and try not to worry about it."  
  
She knew he was just trying to be nice to her, and make her feel better, but honestly... how was she supposed to NOT worry about it? It was impossible! (TFG: like a plain flying pumpkin, and a prince to join in marriage! Impossible!!! lol! j/k! I probably got the words wrong anyways but... who cares? Just sort of random that the Cinderella song got in my head, but... oh, well!)  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Where've you been-?" Draco started, but quit when he saw the look on Hermione's face. He rushed over to her. "What's wrong? What happened?"  
  
She raised her head to look at him, and burst into tears. She flung her arms around him, and buried her face in his chest. "It's okay," he said, soothingly. "Everything'll be alright."  
  
How could he say that? He didn't even know what happened! But then, she reasoned, he was only doing what boyfriends do, and she appreciated it. But she really should tell him.  
  
She slowly pulled him over to the couch, and sat down. "It's.... It's C- Craig......" She sniffled. "He... he's.........." She couldn't bring herself to say it. She didn't want to admit it was true. "Gone! And it's all my fault!"  
  
"What? How's it your fault? What exactly happened?"  
  
She explained it to him, like she had to Professor Dumbledore, and he listened patiently the whole time. The only thing he did was make facial expressions. When she finished he said, "Wow." Then, "I'm SO sorry, Mione. I really am." Then he just held her for a while. There wasn't really anything to say.  
  
She was just glad he was there to hold her, and let her cry on his shoulder. And she did just that.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The words 'death', 'hung', and 'murder' floated through the school the next day, and Hermione, frankly, was tired of hearing it. She'd been confronted only a few times, but she'd just walked away, and pretended she'd never heard them ask.  
  
"Ooh, poor little mudblood... now you only have ONE boyfriend... I suppose just ONE boyfriend... or Draco... isn't good enough for you, eh?" Pansy Parkinson said, as Hermione neared the potions classroom, where Pansy and her friends were waiting outside. "So you just had to go and cheat on him, and then the boy... if you can call him that, went and DIED. How TERRIBLE! You know, Draco is a good man. You shouldn't have done that. Now he'll NEVER take you back!"  
  
Hermione looked at Pansy with pure hatred. She tried not to let the tears fall, but as she closed her eyes to hold them back, all that did was make it worse, and they spilled down her face. She could hear the laughter coming from the other Slytherins standing there, and she wished it would stop. Evil laughter. It was scary. She stood there, willing herself to just go into the classroom, and stay, but her heart said otherwise.  
  
She turned around and ran straight back to her common room, shared with Draco. She knew he wouldn't be there, but she just needed time alone anyway.  
  
(TFG: REVIEW, please!) 


	27. The Funeral

(TFG: J.K. Rowling still owns the characters!  
  
SnWfLaKeSwEeTy-Oh! Yeah, that's good you didn't read it then! Thanks!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-I know! Slytherins! Heheh... *thinks about a certain blonde-haired Slytherin*  
  
Dragonfly-I know... it's sad.  
  
lazy-Thanks!  
  
Goldberry-Yup! Lotsa stuff! Thank you sooo much!  
  
tom felton's babe-no, that's okay. Thanks! Maybe... maybe not... well, I'm not really sure, but not for a while anyway. You never know about afterwards, though... mua ha ha ha haaa! *looks around and sees people staring* what???  
  
animegirl-mika-Yeah, I know... sry! You might've... but then again, doesn't everyone? heheh... Thanks (about the cliffies thing)!  
  
JoeBob1379-Poor her.  
  
Kara-Malfoy-*gasp* Nooooo! lol! I know, I hate Pansy! Grrrr! *shakes a fist*  
  
Snapegirl-Thanks! When I think of something truely terrible to happen to her, I'll write it... I can't really think of anything REALLY good though... I've tried. If you have any suggestions, could you let me know??? Thanks!  
  
couch-potato01-Thanks!  
  
Silver Dragon Goddess-It's your birthday??? Really??? HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! lol! J/p... that's right... no boring reviews!  
  
RainChild-Don't do that!!! Thanks, about the wonderful fic though! Heheh :)  
  
plastic-hey! Great idea!)  
  
Discoveries-27-The Funeral  
  
"Miss Granger, Professor Dumbledore needs to see you in his office," Professor McGonagall said, at the end of Transfiguration class.  
  
"Thank you," she said.  
  
"Miss Granger. Good to see you," Professor Dumbledore said, as she entered. "Have a seat please. Now, I have just been informed that they'll have it on the 8th of this month. That is a school day, but since you knew Mr. Yokiva, you are allowed to go. And you may bring a friend if you like. So you won't have to go alone. Gwen, his mother, has asked if you'd like to make a speech. Would you?"  
  
Hermione thought about it for a minute, then answered, "Yes. I will."  
  
"Alright, then. And who will you take with? If anyone?"  
  
"Draco Malfoy, sir. But I'm not sure if he'd come...."  
  
He held up a hand to silence her. "That's quite alright Miss Granger. Just as long as his teachers know that if he's not there, that's the reason why. Thank you for telling me."  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
"Yes, you may leave now."  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Finally the day came, and at first when she woke up, Hermione didn't remember, but after taking a look at the calender beside her bed, immediately remembered. She was in no hurry to go, because she knew she had plenty of time as it was, and she didn't want any extra to sit around and feel sad.  
  
She was just in the middle of dressing, when the door opened, and there stood Draco. "Sorry," he said, but stayed in the room anyway. "I just wanted to see if you were up. Today's the day, huh?"  
  
"Yes," she said as she continued getting dressed.  
  
"Well, I'll let you get ready. I'll just be in there," he pointed to the common room, before leaving.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Draco? It's time to go," Hermione said, stepping out of her room.  
  
"Okay."  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Oh, you must be Hermione!" a woman, that she recognized (from pictures) to be Craig's mother, said, as she walked over to her, tears in her eyes. "I've heard so much about you from Craig." She hugged her so tightly, that Hermione felt as though she couldn't breathe.  
  
When she released her, she said, "I'm really sorry about this. I had no idea something this drastic would happen. It's... it's just terrible." She could feel the tears stinging her eyes once more, like they had so many times before that.  
  
"I am too," his mother said. "And it is terrible."  
  
They didn't have long to talk, because before too long, the ceremony was starting, and they had to go take their seats. Hermione listened the whole time, patiently. She felt nervous about making her speech. Just when her name was called to go forward, she felt Draco squeeze her hand, and she looked at him. He mouthed, 'you can do it.'  
  
She went up to the front of the room, and looked out at everyone, firstly. Then she began...  
  
"My name is Hermione Granger, and I was a friend of Craig's from school. The first time I actually met him, was right after a group of second years had given him quite a beating. I took him to the hospital wing, after he finally gave in, and I talked to him a little. He started saying 'hi' in the hallways, and he sat by me at a quidditch game. Even when I thought my relationship with someone, who had before been my enemy, was going the wrong way, he told me something that made me feel better, and rethink my actions. You know what he told me? He told me that deep down, I really did care for Draco, and later that night, I went to visit him in the hospital wing, where he'd been from damage from a quidditch game, and now we're back together."  
  
"Craig Yokiva was one of the best people I knew. He was so kind, and caring, and considerate. I was just so thrilled to have him as a friend... He had modesty, and a good heart. He cared for people... even the ones who were mean to him, he cared for. As much as he didn't like them, they were still people, he said, and they needed to be protected."  
  
"It was terrible what happened to him. And I fully blame myself. I did something to upset those sixth years who teased him and beat him, and they wanted revenge. So they went for him. Because they knew I'd miss him a lot. Why they didn't get Draco? I don't know. Those are the two I care about most. And I felt awful when I discovered him there. I... I thought of him as a part of my family. He was my best friend."  
  
By this time, Hermione had tears all the way down her face. It was all sticky, and wet. She wiped some away, but it didn't help much, 'fore more came down quickly, and covered up the spots where it'd been wiped away. She was done with her speech, so she went to go sit by Draco again. There was only a few more speeches after that, and then they left.  
  
They got back to the castle in late afternoon, just before dinner, and had time only to go back to their rooms and change clothes. When they were done they met back in the common room to sit down for a few minutes before dinner.  
  
"I'm really sorry," Draco said, hugging her. "I didn't realize he'd told you that, and changed your mind about me. For that, I'll be forever thankful to him. I love you, Hermione."  
  
(TFG: REVIEW, please!) 


	28. Christmas Day

(TFG: Okay, I'm going to try to put some "fluff" in here somewheres... I'm SOOO sorry it took me FOREVER to update! Really, I am! I was going to update before I went on vacation (went to California) but the site wasn't working, and it was supposed to start working again on the day I left or day after or something, and then I was over at my dad's and have lots of school work and... I'm SO SORRY!  
  
Clare-Thanks! Don't worry, I won't let it go.  
  
Rainchild-Thanks!  
  
Windwalker-yeah, I know I should've, huh? I dunno... ask the stupid Slytherins that did it! *points in the general direction*   
  
Slim-Shady's-Modeling-Baby-Thanks! :D Sorry about scaring you! I kinda had a feeling some people would think it was him.   
  
Starry Skies-I know...  
  
Lauren-Thank you so much! I will!  
  
lazy-thanks!  
  
Dark Queen of Roses-Yeah, I know how you feel...  
  
Silver Dragon Goddess-Thanks! lol! Aaah! I think I've seen one with a wooden mallet before! One of my friends is really random, too... heheh... she wrote in my yearbook "I am not a mushroom!" lol! I'll be waitin' for the next random review! :D  
  
plastic-thanks!  
  
JoeBob1379-You're speechless??? *gasps along with the crowd* Thanks!  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-Thanks!   
  
SnapeGirl-lol! I'll keep that in mind about the stray dementor! Thanks!  
  
alix-Thanks!)  
  
Discoveries-28-Christmas Day  
  
It had been almost a month since Craig's death, and it was also nearly Christmas. Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve Day, and the next day, of course, Christmas itself. Hermione was really glad it was the holidays, but at the same time really sad, and wished her friend could be here to share it with her. She'd only known him for such a short while, and still couldn't believe, when she thought of the whole thing, that he had to die so young. Now she was officially against the Slytherin house, now and forever. Every single one of them... except for Draco.  
  
It was then that Hermione remembered she needed to do some shopping for presents. She hadn't bought anyone a single gift yet, and there would be no more trips to Hogsmeade. Frustrated, she sighed, and stared at the wall, still thinking. Then it came to her. She leapt out of the chair she had been sitting it, and ran to find Harry. He was in the Gryffindor Common Room, where she expected him to be, sitting and playing a game of Wizard's Chess with Ron. "Hey, Harry, can I borrow the map?"   
  
"Shhh! Not so loud!" Ron said.  
  
"But there's nobody in this room besides us!" Hermione said, bewildered.   
  
"Oh... right," Ron said, blushing.  
  
"So, can I? I need to go to Hogsmeade to buy some things..."  
  
"Of course... lemme run upstairs and get it," Harry said, going into the 7th year boys' dormitories. He came back moments later with a blank piece of parchment in his hand. "Here you go."  
  
She took it, kissed him on the cheek, and said "Thank you!" Then she left.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
In the cellar of Honeydukes, Hermione looked around, before entering completely, then seeing as nobody was there, climbed out of the secret door, and made her way up the stairs, slowly. She opened the door slightly, slipped through, and closed it shut. Then she sneakily backed up from behind the counter, and started looking at some candy that was right beside her.   
  
Hermione went from store to store, looking at everything. She needed to get gifts for all her friends, and she needed to find them somewhere within the village of Hogsmeade. She had no time to go anywhere else. And she wanted to get everyone stuff that they'd actually use. Not just something that would be hidden in their trunks.   
  
She found what she needed for everyone, then left for Hogwarts, through Honeydukes.   
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Christmas morning, Hermione woke up early. She had forgotten to set her alarm clock, but she was used to waking up early on Christmas, so it was just out of habit. She loved Christmas! It was her favorite holiday! Time with friends and family... just the people she loved the most. And giving and recieving gifts. Decorating the tree. Snow on the ground. Just a happy feeling about it all. She lay in bed, and smiled to herself, thinking about it. After a few minutes, she got up and went to her dresser. She opened a drawer, and pulled out some clothes... A soft white sweater, and a pair of faded blue jeans. She slipped into them, then found the brush on the dresser, ran it through her tangled hair, then pulled it back into a simple ponytail. She brushed her teeth, then went back to her room to get her presents.   
  
"Good morning, Draco!" Hermione said, merrily, as he exited his room.   
  
"Oh, you're up," He said.  
  
"Yep! I didn't think you'd ever wake up! I was just about to come in there and drag you out of bed!" she said, and laughed. He grinned, and came over to sit by her, his hair still a mess, and still in his boxers and tanktop.   
  
As soon as he was sitting down, she handed him a present, wrapped in green wrapping paper, with a silver ribbon. "Happy Christmas," she whispered. He looked at her, took it, and tore off the paper. It was a small box. He lifted the lid, and pulled out a silver necklace with half of a silver heart hanging on it. He looked at her questioningly, and she smiled, and reached around her neck to show him an identical necklace, with the other half of the heart. He smiled, put it around his neck and kissed her. "Thank you," he said, quietly.  
  
Then he left, going into his room and emerged just after, holding something behind his back. He sat beside her again, and handed her a gift he'd been holding... wrapped in (TFG: you guessed it!) red paper, with gold ribbon. This was about the same size as the one she'd given him, and she wondered what could be in it. She opened it, and gasped. While she was staring at it, he reached over, took it out, and put it on her. "It's a charmbracelet. Read the inscription on the heart charm," he instructed. It read: 'My love for you is forever... -Draco' By now she was crying, and she looked at him, tears streaming out of her eyes. "Every year, this time, we'll get another charm for it, and add it on. Pretty soon you'll have a bracelet with lots of memories on it. Then you can look at it fifty years from now and say 'I got this from my first true love!'" Draco said, saying the last part like an old lady. She laughed, he grinned, and a few more tears spilled out. "I love you Hermione," he said, then kissed her.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Later that day, Hermione gathered her friends presents, and headed up to the Gryffindor Common Room alone. She reached the portrait of the fat lady in the pink silk dress and said the password. The portrait swung open, and she entered to find her friends sitting there. "Happy Christmas!" she said, making them turn around and look.   
  
"Happy Christmas, Hermione!" Ron said.  
  
"Happy Christmas!" Harry and Neville said. This was the first time Neville had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays, but everyone was glad to have him there.   
  
"Where's Ginny?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Oh, she's upstairs," Ron replied. "GINNY!!!!"  
  
"What do you want, you-!" Ginny began, coming out, but then stopped yelling when she saw Hermione. "Hey, Mione! Happy Christmas!" She ran over to her, and hugged her. "I was wondering when you'd come!"  
  
"I've got presents for all of you," Hermione said. "Here," she handed Harry a box and sat down, beside him. He opened it, and his eyes widened. "Thanks, Hermione!" he said, excitedly.  
  
"What is it?" asked Neville.  
  
"It's a set of Quidditch balls!" he said. Just like he said, there was a quaffle, two bludgers, and a golden snitch, all inside a box, and belted down. Well... the bludgers, anyway.  
  
"I figured you could use them... or at least the snitch to practice for quidditch," Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah, I can! Thanks!" he said, hugging her.  
  
"You're welcome," she said, then handed something to Ron. The box had holes it in, and everyone saw it shake a little.   
  
"What is it?" he asked, worriedly.   
  
"Oh, it's nothing to be worried about," Hermione said. "Honestly."  
  
He didn't look like he believed her, but he opened it anyway, with a trembling hand. When he saw what it was, he relaxed, but looked happy at the same time. It was a black rat. "Thank you!" he said.  
  
"No problem." She knew he missed Scabbers, even though he really was the evil Peter Pettigrew, in animagus form. And since Pidwidgeon, also known as Pig, had flown away two summers ago, when Ron had gotten it angry and accidently left a window open, she figured he needed a pet... Pig never had came back.  
  
"Here you go, Neville," Hermione said.  
  
He opened it, and smiled, a big toothy smile. "Thanks a lot, Hermione!"   
  
"It's a new model of the remembrall. This one actually shows you what you've forgotten to do, and the smoke turns green, instead."  
  
Instantly, the smoke turned green, and an image appeared. "Oh, no!" he groaned.  
  
When Ginny opened her present, she turned a little pink, but quickly got over it. Hermione had given her a potions book, and on the cover, it showed a love potion. Hermione grinned and whispered, "You know... you could always try that potion out on... someone..."  
  
Ginny blushed furiously now, but luckily, the guys had gone back to talking about quidditch, so they didn't notice. "Thanks," Ginny whispered.  
  
(TFG: Well??? Great to get away from the angst again! Don't worry! There won't be any more angst in this story! If there is, it'll just be something small, not like huge like Craig's death. Nothing to cry over or anything. Please REVIEW, though!) 


	29. Snow Day

(TFG: J.K. Rowling owns the characters! I'm only using them temporarily.  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-Yeah, but I didn't know what they should give her so I didn't put that in. Thanks!  
  
RainChild-Thanks! Maybe... maybe not... you'll just have to wait and see!   
  
SilverDragonGoddess-lol! I love those random comments! Especially the one about the three kinds of people and the budget cut... lol! Thanks!  
  
lollylips3-thanks!  
  
Ellie-Thanks! Yeah, Draco and Hermione are the best couple.  
  
Clare-Thank you!  
  
plastic-I'm not entirely sure how many more... I don't really want to promise too many and then not end up writing that much, but... hopefully a lot.   
  
snwflakesweety-Maybe... heheh.... ooh! Thanks! I almost forgot about Ron (I'm sooo terrible!)... I should really do something about that. Thanks for saying that or else I probably wouldn't have done anything about it! Thanks!  
  
Slim-Shady's-Modeling-Baby-Thanks!  
  
shadowviolet212-lol! Yeah, I hardly ever finish fanfics, either... I always forget about them because I read so many, usually! Thanks!  
  
Lily of the Shadow-Yeah... thanks!  
  
whale girl-Thanks! I will!)  
  
Discoveries-29-Snow Day  
  
People were back from Christmas vacation, and classes had started again, much to Hermione's delight. Everyone else groaned when they had to go back. Hermione was now her happy self again, just like she always was when she was doing schoolwork. Not that the holidays had stopped her from visiting the library during the days, and even once late at night with Harry's invisibility cloak. She'd almost been caught that time, but ended up safe, afterall.  
  
"It should be a rule that we don't get homework on the first day back from break!" Ron complained, as they walked down the hall to their next class. "I mean, we've just gotten over two full weeks without school, now they have to go and shove this all in our faces. It's just not fair!"  
  
"Well, you know they have to do that. It's to help us learn," Hermione said.  
  
"Well, you know they have to do that. It's to help us learn," Ron mimicked. She whacked him on the shoulder with a heavy book. "Ow!" he said, rubbing his shoulder.  
  
"You deserved it!" Hermione said. "Oh, I have to go now... I have arithmancy, remember?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. See you later, Hermi!" Harry said.  
  
"'Bye, Mione!"   
  
She waved, and then dashed across the hall to Draco. "Hey, Draco," she said.  
  
"There you are... I was wondering when you'd show." He smiled. "Time to get to class."  
  
They began walking, turning the corner, Malgarcon and his friends approached them. "Why hello, Granger!" He said.   
  
"What do you want?!" she snapped.  
  
"I'm sorry... I know it must've been hard with only ONE boyfriend for Christmas... considering Malfoy couldn't have had all the time in the world to spend with you... you couldn't go back and forth like you did before the 'incident.'" He said this all, in a tone that was supposed to be sincere, but coming from him it wasn't.  
  
Draco stepped forward and punched Malgarcon in the jaw. "What's your problem, dude?! Where do you get off calling my girl a slut?! Huh?!" He punched him again. Malgarcon held a hand to his face where he'd been punched, then let go, to give Draco a blow to the chest. Draco stumbled backwards, then ran forwards and tackled Malgarcon. They both were on the floor kicking and beating the crap out of each other.   
  
Hermione rushed forward to pull Draco away, but couldn't. She watched for about two minutes, then finally was able to pull him back, him giving in somewhat. Malgarcon's buddies helped him up, and both Draco and Malgarcon glared at each other. "I don't ever want to see your face again!" Draco spat.   
  
"Fine... you won't," Malgarcon said, walking away with his friends behind him.   
  
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Hermione asked, gently touching the bruises on his face.   
  
"Yeah... I'm fine," he said, then brought his head up to face her. "Come on. Let's go."  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger... both of you are late."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
On Saturday, after lunch, Hermione decided to go for a walk. She went to her room first, to get a scarf, her black Hogwarts robe, and some mittens. Then she slipped on some boots, and went out the door. Outside it was cold, but it wasn't that bad. The snow was still falling peacefully from the sky... just little snowflakes. The ground was piled with it. As soon a she took a step off the covered steps, her foot sunk in so deep, that the snow went up to her knee. She took another step, and her other foot went right in just as deep. Then another step. And another. It was taking her forever. She'd been walking a while, when she felt something hard his her back. She twisted her body around and saw Draco standing a few yards away with a snowball in hand. He was grinning from ear to ear.   
  
"So that's how you want to play." Then he threw that snowball, too, and hit her in the stomach. She went backwards a bit, but regained her balance, just in time to be hit again. Now he was coming near her. She reached down, picked up a handful of snow, made it into a mound, and tossed it at him. She hit her target, and smiled, victoriously. She quickly made another one, backing up a little, as he got closer and threw another. This time when she threw one, he did, too, and they both hit, broke apart, and fell to the ground. Both Hermione and Draco began laughing. Hermione then took the opportunity, as he still stood there laughing, to make a snowball and hit him in the chest.   
  
"Oh, I'm going to get you!" he said, running forwards, as fast as he could, anyway, through the snow. He reached her, being much faster and catching up to her running away. He crushed a snowball on her head, and some of the snow got caught in her eyelashes. He pushed her back and they fell in the snow, together. It was cold, but neither one noticed this much as they just lay there kissing.   
  
Their kissing was interrupted by something hitting them both in the head. They looked up, and saw Harry and Ron standing there, looking innocent... sort of, and stood up. They made snowballs and threw them at Harry and Ron. "SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Ron yelled.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
After playing around in the snow, Hermione, Draco, Ron and Harry went to their rooms to change into some clean clothes, then all met in the Gryffindor common room for some hot cocoa with marshmellows in it.  
  
"Where have you been?" Neville asked.  
  
"Snowball fight," Hermione said, taking a sip of hot chocolate. She closed her eyes, enjoying the rich taste, then opened them again, to eat a marshmellow off the top.  
  
"Oh. I had homework to do."  
  
"Do you need any help?" Hermione asked, right away.  
  
"No, thanks. I'm finished with it now. I got Ginny to help me with it. It was just some potions homework," Neville answered.  
  
"Ah... I see," Hermione said, smiling.  
  
"What are you smiling about?" Ron asked.  
  
"Nothing." She had just been thinking about the book she'd given her. She wasn't sure yet if Ginny had decided to use the love potion on Harry or not. But she, personally, didn't think she'd need a potion. She'd seen the way Harry looked at her. It was like he liked her, as much as she liked him. Hermione thought it'd be really sweet if they got together. Just then, Ginny entered the room...  
  
(TFG: REVIEW, please!) 


	30. Preparations

(TFG: J.K. Rowling's characters!  
  
some1-Yeah, she was kind of, wasn't she?   
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-Thank you!  
  
snwflakesweety-Thanks! Don't worry, I won't forget.  
  
Dark Queen of Roses-Thanks!  
  
Couchpotato01-Thanks!  
  
DolceExpressivo-I never said they would get together... *mentally curses herself* heheh... Thanks!  
  
Sweet Sorrow-yeah  
  
SilverDragonGoddess-lol! Thanks!  
  
Girl-Named-Belle-Cool... yeah, he is kinda creepy isn't he?   
  
Clare-Thanks!  
  
horsegrl8311-Thanks!  
  
whale girl-Thank you!  
  
Ellie-Thanks! Yeah, I dunno... I just thought since it's winter and all...   
  
christinamalfoy-Yeah, I love Draco, too... the best character there is!  
  
Slim-Shady's-Modeling-Baby-Yup! Me, too!)  
  
Discoveries-30-Preparations  
  
Hermione decided to to see her friends in Gryffindor, so after dinner she made her way up to the tower. Inside everyone was busy doing something. "Hey, Harry. Hey, Ron," she said. But neither looked up, they just made little noises, as their eyes stayed on the chessboard. She sighed, looked around the room, and spotted Ginny in a corner, by herself. She walked over and sat down beside her. "What're you reading?" Hermione asked.  
  
Ginny looked up and blushed. "Oh!" She looked down at the book, then back up at Hermione, showing her the cover. It was the potions book she'd given her. Looking down at the page she saw that it was also on the 'love potion' page. Hermione smiled, and said, "It's okay. Were you thinking about making it and using it on him?" Ginny nodded.  
  
"Well, where are you going to make it? That one takes a while to make, and you can't just have it in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, because someone'll see it," Hermione said. Ginny's expression grew sad. "It's okay. I've got an idea. I can help you make it, and we'll do it in my room. Since I share it with no one, nobody can find it. I'll just keep it in a corner of my room or something... no, wait! I'll keep it in my closet. You know... in case Draco comes in. He might be suspicious. Come on, let's go!"  
  
They left, with nothing but the book, and went to Hermione's room. Draco wasn't in the common room, and she couldn't hear him in his own room, so they didn't have to sneak into hers. Inside, she locked the door, and went to fetch her cauldron. She found it, brought it out and looked at the book, propped up against her trunk. "Okay, let's see what ingredients we need..."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Thanks for helping me, Hermione," Ginny said.  
  
"No problem. We can work on it tomorrow after dinner, as well."  
  
"Okay. See you."  
  
"'Bye, Ginny!" Hermione said, as Ginny closed the door behind her.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"What's the hurry, Herm?" Ron asked, as he noticed how quickly Hermione was eating. "Need to get to the library before it closes or something? You know you could always borrow the you-know-what." He lowered his voice.  
  
"What? Oh, no, I don't need it. I'm not going to the library, anyway."  
  
"Then what could possibly be so important that you need to eat so fast?" Ron asked, then his eyes widened, and he smirked. "Ohh... I see how it is." He nudged her with his elbow. "Need to hurry back to Draco, huh?"  
  
"Oh, shut up!" she said, hitting him on the shoulder. "I'm not 'hurrying back to Draco.'" she mimicked. "Actually, I just have to work on something."  
  
"So it IS homework, then?"  
  
"You're wrong, again. It's not homework, but I can't say what it is, so don't bother getting me to spill the beans. I won't tell. I don't tell other peoples secrets!" she said, gulping down the last of her pumpkin juice and leaving the Great Hall.  
  
She looked around and saw Ginny sitting on the staircase waiting. "Hey, Ginny, come on. We'd better keep working on that potion." They went to her room and closed the door.  
  
Hermione dragged the cauldron out of her closet, and the book along with it. She flipped it open to the correct page, and began reading. "Oh, no! We've messed up the potion! We added an incorrect ingredient yesterday! We'll need to start over!" Hermione said, setting the book down, and looked at Ginny.  
  
"That's okay. What should we do with the rest of this potion?"  
  
"Add water and mix it a bit, then just dump it out the window."  
  
"What? Why water?"  
  
"So it won't be so strong. It'll hurt the plants the way it is, but water will fix that. Just make sure nobody's standing under it, or we might have some explaining to do."  
  
Ginny nodded, and followed her directions. Then she rinsed out the cauldron again, and came back to where Hermione sat. "So what ingredients do we need, instead?"  
  
"Let's see here..." Hermione scanned the page. "Well, instead of beetle's eyes, we'll need crushed bicorn horn, and-"  
  
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! "Hermione, can I talk to you?" Draco opened the door. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize Ginny was here. Say, what're you working on? We don't have Potions homework today." He started walking over to them.  
  
"Oh... it's nothing, really," Hermione said. "Just trying out potions from this book." Hermione held up the book and showed him the cover.  
  
"Oh. Well, I'll see you later, Mione," he said, winking, and walking away.  
  
She smiled at him, and watched as he walked out, then turned back to Ginny. "Maybe we'd better finish working on this tomorrow."  
  
"Alright," Ginny got up and left.   
  
Hermione was just putting her things away, when she felt arms around her. She turned her neck around and smiled at him.   
  
"I was waiting for her to leave, out in the common room," Draco said, then started kissing her neck, softly. Draco moved around to where he was standing in front of her, and kissed her on the lips, while pushing her backwards into a wall. As he did this, he started unbuttoning her shirt, and was almost down to the last button, when Hermione moved her hands to stop him. "Draco... maybe we shouldn't do this right now," she whispered.  
  
He looked at her eyes and then stepped back. "Okay... I'll back off," he held his hands up a little, as he walked backwards to the door, then turned around and left, closing the door rather loud behind him.  
  
Hermione watched him leave, and went to go lay on her bed, tears falling silently on her pillow.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning, Draco wasn't speaking to her much. He was polite and all, but he wouldn't talk to her. And it hurt. Really bad.   
  
Hermione had completely forgotten about the Quidditch match that evening, and had to tell Ginny that she wouldn't be working on the potion with her tonight. It was Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and she was going to make a point of being there for Draco, to cheer him on.   
  
When the time came, Hermione left for the Quidditch field and got the best possible seat she could, and waited. Ron came over and sat beside her just before the game started, and noticed she didn't seem to be in a good mood. "What's wrong, Herm?" he asked. "And please don't say nothing."  
  
"It's complicated."  
  
"Well... at least you didn't say 'nothing,'" he commented. "But really, Hermione. What's bothering you? Maybe I can help."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"W-" he began, but she interrupted.  
  
"No, Ron. Please don't say anything. I'll figure it out on my own. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."  
  
So he quit badgering her. But that didn't mean he didn't keep looking out at her from the corner of his eye, worriedly. The game was alright. Slytherin won, and that made Hermione happy, in a way. Because Draco had won. She was happy for him. She knew she probably shouldn't have been cheering for Slytherin, when it was her own house that lost, but she didn't care.   
  
After the game, she was just on her way to her room, when someone spoke out of the darkness. "Good evening, fair maiden. And what would a lovely lady such as yourself be doing at this hour?" She turned and looked.   
  
"Montgomery? What are you doing?" she asked. It was none other then Steve Montgomery... Draco's least-favorite person (and no, I didn't forget Malgarcon's name... it's a totally different person).  
  
"Just standing here. Waiting..."  
  
"For whom?"  
  
"You."  
  
"Me? Why me? Don't you have better things to do?"  
  
"Not really. Unless you count beating your little boyfriend in wizard dueling."  
  
"You couldn't beat Draco if you tried!"   
  
"Oh, couldn't I?"  
  
"That's right. And just why are you waiting for me? You never said."  
  
"Because..." He stepped closer, and started kissing her furiously on the mouth. She tried to escape, but his grasp on her arms was strong. Then, she figured, since he was only holding her upper arms, she could reach into her robes, still, and take out her wand. Well, she did, get to the wand, but it was hard to actually grab it, and she instead knocked it out and it rolled across the floor. She struggled against him, but it was no use. He was too strong. She kept her eyes open, in case someone came by. Nobody. No one to help her. And now Montgomery was holding her with one hand, and the other was moving over her body... and she really didn't like it. He moved his mouth down to kiss her neck, and that let Hermione have the chance to breathe. Just then, she saw Draco coming down the hall. He saw them, and stopped. Hermione got a pleading look on her face, and mouthed 'help me.' He didn't look angry anymore... well, for a minute, but then he was glaring daggers at Montgomery. He rushed forwards and threw him off of Hermione, then stood between them, facing Montgomery. "What in bloody hell do you think you're doing?!" he yelled.  
  
"You were right... Granger is sweet," Montgomery said, in a sickening voice.  
  
"You stay away from her! You hear me? If I ever hear about you doing something to her again, or see you near her, you are really going to get a beating!"  
  
"Awww, come on! You didn't even give me the chance to f-" But he didn't finish was he was saying. Before he could, Draco punched him in the stomach, causing him to stagger backwards. Montgomery swung a blow at Draco, and although he tried to dodge it, he wasn't fast enough. It hit him in the eye. Draco faintly touched his eye, made a face, and then began to take a swing at Montgomery...  
  
"Draco, stop!" Hermione said. He turned around and looked at her. "I don't want you getting anymore hurt than you already are. So just please, stop, okay?"  
  
He sighed, and turned back to Montgomery. "Remember what I said..." And he and Hermione left.  
  
(TFG: Well??? REVIEW, please!) 


	31. Surprises

(TFG: Hey, all! J.K. Rowling still owns the characters... *sigh*  
  
Rita Felton-Thanks!  
  
Kerbi-Thank you sooo much! Yeah, I'll email you as soon as I put this up... of course, if you're reading this now, you've already gotten my email, so... lol!  
  
angelbaby-Here's the next chapter... sorry to keep you waiting too long!  
  
DMLvrMudbldHtr-I love your penname!  
  
couch-potato01-Yeah... kinda weird... heheh!  
  
Ellie-Thanks!  
  
elijahsbaby1981-Here's more...  
  
Elisha-Thanks!  
  
heather j.-No, he's a new character... sorry that I confused you... you're probably thinking about Malgarcon... he's younger. I had to make an older character because that would be too weird if that happened with someone as young as Malgarcon. Montgomery's in their year.  
  
BraveSpiritGryffindor-I know! What a jerk!  
  
Anon***Starr_Bitch-Thanks!  
  
Silver Dragon Goddess-I know! Everything happens to her... sheesh! Sorry! I know, I'm getting worse and worse with updating my stories!  
  
Girl-named-Belle-Thanks!  
  
tom girl-Thank you so much!)  
  
Discoveries-31-Surprises  
  
Ron was just walking down the hall when he spotted Ginny going the opposite way from the Gryffindor common room. "Hey, Ginny!" he called out. She turned around. She looked nervous. "Where're you going? The common room's that way."  
  
"Oh... just to the library," she said.  
  
"Oh, I'll go with you-"  
  
"No! I mean... that's okay. I'll be fine. And besides, I need to get some work done. So I'll see you later, alright?"  
  
"Fine," he said, his shoulders slumped a little, and he walked off. He continued walking until he saw something in the distance... it was a girl running. He couldn't tell who it was because she was moving too fast, but he decided to run after her. "Hey! Wait!" he said. After he'd been running a while, he said, yet again, "Wait!" He was panting by now. She slowly came to a stop and spun around.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Why were you running?"  
  
"Oh... well I was trying to get away from Malgarcon... he shouldn't be too far behind. I'd better keep going. I don't want him to find me." She began running again at a slower pace than before. He followed her.  
  
"Is he mad at you for some reason?" he asked.  
  
"Actually... I sort of played a little prank on him, and he got upset for some reason... I'm not exactly sure why, but all I know is he's looking for me and I'm not safe anywhere I go."  
  
"What house are you from?"  
  
"Slytherin."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Why? What house are you from?"  
  
"Gryffindor."  
  
"Ah, I see... our houses don't exactly get along now, do we?" she said, stopping. He stopped as well. "I'm Daisy by the way. I just moved here from America before this school year."  
  
"I'm Ron... Ron Weasley. It's nice to meet you."  
  
"And you. I must say, your school is much better than my old one. I'm so glad we moved here." She smiled.  
  
Ron smiled, too. "I'm glad you moved here, too."  
  
"Well, well, well, look who we have here... if it isn't Daisy... I've been looking for you," Malgarcon said, and the two spun around.  
  
"Leave me alone, already!" Daisy said, annoyed.  
  
"Why? It's really no bother to me... I could just as well stay here and talk to you all day."  
  
"Why don't you leave," Ron suggested, stepping in front of Daisy, and facing Malgarcon.  
  
"Why if it isn't poor Weasley..." Malgarcon said... then, realizing what he'd said, began laughing hysterically.  
  
Ron stepped forwards and pointed his wand at Malgarcon. "Petrificus Totalus," he said, and suddenly Malgarcon's arms and legs snapped together, and he fell backwards on the cold castle floor, speechless and unable to move. Ron looked down at him satisfied, and then looked up at Daisy. "Come on, let's go before someone comes around and we get in trouble." They dashed down the corridor and out of sight before anyone else had time to get there. Ron didn't feel the least bit sorry about leaving him there, either. He was practically as bad as Malfoy! Wait! No, he wasn't... he was worse than Malfoy. And Ron never thought he'd meet anyone worse than Malfoy in his life at Hogwarts.  
  
Later that night, he lay in his bed thinking about her. "Daisy," he said. "Daisy... what is her last name anyway?" he wondered out loud.  
  
"Who's Daisy?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron jumped a little, not knowing that anyone else in their dormitory was awake. He pulled back the fabric hanging from his bed posts, so he could face Harry, and saw Harry's face there, looking at him. "You know that new student from America... well, I met her earlier this day."  
  
"But isn't she in Slytherin?" Harry asked, alarmed.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Ron... you don't seriously... you don't like her, do you?"  
  
"I dunno... I don't really know her that well... but she was really nice before. She's not all that bad to look at, either," Ron said.  
  
"Well... I guess I'm happy for you... if you two get together, I mean. You really need to find someone, and I support your decision, if that's the one you make."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You said I really need to find someone... you don't have a girlfriend, either."  
  
"True."  
  
"You should be more outgoing."  
  
"Look who's talking."  
  
Both boys laughed at their not-so-smart conversation, and soon fell asleep... Ron, all the while, still thinking of the girl he'd met earlier, and wanting it to be the next day so he could see her again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I think the potion's complete," Hermione said, as she stirred the mixture in the cauldron. She looked up at Ginny, then took a small glass bottle and began pouring some of the potion inside. She then stuck in the cork, and handing it to Ginny. "Here... tomorrow at breakfast be sure to get there early, and slip some of this into Harry's goblet. Don't worry about it being in the wrong person's drink... I'll sit right beside it to watch, and make sure Harry sits there. Then you can sit wherever, and it'll work. Just don't go blabbing anything before you know for certain if it worked."  
  
"Okay... thanks Hermione," Ginny said, hugging her friend and getting up to leave.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hermione arrived in the great hall for breakfast a little early, but just after Ginny got there. She watched as her friend emptied the bottle's contents into Harry's drink, and sat down across from his plate. She saw Hermione coming, and smiled faintly. "I did it, " she whispered.  
  
"I know," Hermione said, sitting down.  
  
Not too much later Harry and Ron came in, and she didn't even realize that until they had both sat down, and began eating. She looked up, and saw Ron sitting on her left, just about to take a sip of his pumpkin juice, when she snatched it away from him. "You can't drink that," she said.  
  
"Why not?!" he demanded.  
  
"Because I said so," she said, dumping it out behind her on the floor, and watching as it got absorbed. Not wanting to give it to Harry now, and have Ron say something, she just waited until it filled back up with pumpkin juice and handed it to Ron. "Here you go... it's okay now," she said. Ron looked at her strangely, but drank anyway. Hermione felt bad about what she did, but luckily Ginny didn't notice anything, because she had been turned away at the time.  
  
So the next day, Hermione took some of the leftover potion and put it in Harry's goblet, once again, and this time watched when they entered. "Sit over here, Harry," she said, motioning for him to sit beside her where the drink was. Ron sat on her other side. Before Ron drank his pumpkin juice today, he asked, "Can I drink it this time?"  
  
"What? Oh, of course!" she said, acting like he was going crazy, and looking at him weird today.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I don't know if the potion works... Harry hasn't said anything yet," Ginny confided in Hermione later that day.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure it worked... just give it time. It shouldn't be too much longer."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hermione! I have to tell you something!" Ginny exclaimed, rushing into Hermione's room. "Guess what just happened?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Harry kissed me!" Ginny squealed.  
  
Hermione's eyes widened. "Seriously?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"When?"  
  
"Well, we were alone in the common room and he came over to where I was sitting and said 'I want to tell you something...' and then he paused for a second, and then he just kissed me, and said 'Will you go out with me?'"  
  
"Oh my gosh! I'm so happy for you!" Hermione said. "That's wonderful!" She hugged her friend, and they went on talking about it until it was very late and Ginny had to leave.  
  
(TFG: REVIEW, please! It'd mean a lot to me! Thanks!) 


	32. I Didn't Drink Any

(TFG: Hey! I 'm sorry it's been so long! I thought I already had another chapter written, but I didn't... so now I have to think of an idea... hmmm... well, here goes!)  
  
Discoveries-32-I Didn't Drink Any  
  
"Who's that walking with Ron?" Hermione asked, as she sat down beside Harry for dinner.  
  
"Daisy."  
  
"And is she...? She's a Slytherin!"  
  
"I wouldn't be talking, 'Mione... you're the one going out with Malfoy," Harry responded.  
  
"Yeah, but RON... I just didn't think he'd be walking with a Slytherin, let alone looking at one. He hates Slytherins!"  
  
"Well, so do I... but I guess some of them aren't as bad as they seem at first..." Hermione smiled at this. Just then Ron came over to their table.  
  
"So how did you meet Daisy?" Hermione asked, smirking.  
  
"Oh... it's a long story."  
  
"Well, I've got time..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hermione and Draco were holding hands and smiling as they walked up to the Astronomy Tower. As soon as they opened the door to go outside, they heard noises coming from only feet away. They looked around and the moon was shining brightly so they could make out the shape of two figures, but they couldn't tell who they were because there faces were hidden. "Er... hello?" Hermione asked, unsure. The two people looked up and it was none other than Ron and Daisy.  
  
Both their faces turned crimson, and they looked at the floor. Then they heard something else and looked up to see Harry and Ginny come out from behind a wall. "What are you doing here?" Ron asked.  
  
"We were... just, er... stargazing?" Harry suggested, hopefully.  
  
"Nice try," said Hermione. "We all know why all of us are up here, and it's NOT stargazing!" They all nodded. "Er... well, anyway... Draco and I'll just be over here..." she pointed to the opposite direction of the other couples.  
  
They walked around the back of the tower, to an area where they couldn't be seen by the others. "That was... a little awkward," Draco said.  
  
"Yeah," Hermione said, then leaned forward to kiss Draco. He kissed her back, and they soon ended up leaning against the wall with his arms around her waist, and her hands placed on his neck. After a long kiss, they stopped, and they just held each other and looked up at the stars.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hermione woke up, and wondered at first where she was. She looked around, and when she noticed Draco beside her, she remembered last night... they must have both fallen asleep while stargazing. It was cold outside in the early morning... the sun hadn't come up yet. She gently shook Draco, but he didn't budge. So she kissed him, and when he started kissing her back she pulled away. "Why'd you stop?" he asked, not opening his eyes.  
  
"Draco... it's freezing out here... can we go inside?" she asked.  
  
"What?" He opened his eyes. "Where are we?"  
  
"The astronomy tower."  
  
"What? Oh, yeah..."  
  
"Can you let go of me now, so I can go inside and warm up?"  
  
"No..." he said, pulling her closer, and closing his eyes again.  
  
"Draco..."  
  
"Hermione..."  
  
"Come on... I'm getting cold!"  
  
"Fine, fine, fine..." he said, letting go of her, and following her inside.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey, Ginny," Hermione said, entering the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"Hello," Ginny said, looking up.  
  
"Oh, hey, Hermione," Harry and Ron said, together.  
  
"Hi," she replied, and sat down beside the two boys. "What's new?"  
  
"Nothing, really... why?" Ron asked.  
  
"I dunno... it's just really boring. There's nothing to do today."  
  
"We could go to Hogsmeade," Harry suggested. "The three of us haven't really spent much time together for a while..."  
  
"What do you mean? We do all the time!" Ron defended.  
  
"No, I mean... just the three of us."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"That sounds like a good idea," Hermione said. "I'll just go get my money and then I'll meet you in the entrance hall, okay?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
Hermione left and got her money, and then met them, as she said, in the entrance hall. "Ready?" she asked. The two nodded. "Okay, let's go."  
  
Hogsmeade hadn't changed a bit since the last time they'd been there. It was exactly the same, except maybe more crowded than usual. After a while of walking around the streets and in shops, they finally decided to go inside the Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeer. They recognized some teachers in there, so naturally, Hermione waved to them, making Ron roll his eyes, and Harry just laugh.  
  
"I'm glad you two have found someone," Hermione said, suddenly. "You know, Harry... Ginny's crush on you never stopped... and, er... I should really tell you something..."  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"Well... er... do you promise not to tell anyone? Especially Ginny, you can't tell her!" Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah, I promise." Then she looked at Ron. "Yeah, yeah.... I promise!"  
  
"Well, I sort of got Ginny that potion book for Christmas... for a reason. There's a certain potion in there that I thought she might like to try, and I helped her make it..."  
  
"What kind of potion?"  
  
"A..." she lowered her voice. "Love potion."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I know, I know! I shouldn't have talked her into it, but-"  
  
"No, I mean, what? I didn't hear you..."  
  
"A love potion. And remember, Ron, that one day when I wouldn't let you drink any of your pumpkin juice?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"It's because Harry was supposed to sit there, but instead you did before I could say anything, so I just dumped it out. The next day I put some in Harry's drink and made sure he sat there... so you see, it's really all just a big misunderstanding..."  
  
"I didn't drink any pumpkin juice that day..." Harry said.  
  
(TFG: I was trying to make it longer, but I wanted a cliffhanger... sorta... well, review please!) 


End file.
